Friday, April 14, 2000
Hamilton opens traffic division
Special unit aims to improve police operation
BY David Eck
Enquirer Contributor
HAMILTON — Drivers here soon should notice a greater police emphasis on traffic enforcement and safety.
The department this month unveiled a new division that will specifically handle traffic details — from speeding complaints to over weight trucks to car crashes.
“My No. 1 goal is to be more responsive to complaints from the citizens of Hamilton,” said Lt. Michael Lease, the unit's commander.
The division, which will cost about $250,000 annually, will contain 16 officers including two supervisors and a grants administrator, said Police Chief Neil Ferdelman.
Three new police officer positions will be assigned to the contingent and the rest will be traffic officers now assigned as part of regular patrol shifts.
The city budget will fund the new personnel, and grants will pay for at least two new police cruisers, Chief Ferdelman said.
Three traffic officers will work each shift, and four others will work a 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift, when traffic seems to be the heaviest.
The traffic officers will have specialized training in such skills as accident reconstruction, radar operation and DUI detection, Lt. Lease said.
Residents should expect to see more radar enforcement throughout the city, a greater police presence on the streets and more attentive response to traffic complaints, police say.
An added benefit: Patrol officers won't have to leave their beats to handle traffic issues, Lt. Lease said.
The department last had a traffic division in 1981, and police chiefs have sought since then that it be reinstated, Chief Ferdelman said. .
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