This is just a great
"back to basics" story out of the midwest. A police department in
Kansas has reminded us all of the correlation between traffic
enforcement and crime reduction.
The Shawnee Police
Department has developed a two-part program involving an initial
assessment of high crime areas and then a targeted motor vehicle
enforcement presence.
SHAWNEE, Kan. --
Shawnee police said they are using a new crime-fighting strategy to
help clean up some of the more crime-ridden parts of town.
Shawnee police
said the technique has shown a dramatic drop in crime without having
to hire extra officers. It's a program called Data Driven Approaches
to Crime and Traffic Safety.
The program shows
that where there are more traffic problems, there is generally more
crime. So police saturate those areas, such as the 75th Street
corridor in Shawnee, with more officers. They said, so far, they've
seen a 62 percent decrease in auto thefts and burglaries. Robberies
have dropped about 42 percent.
"What we've
discovered is that there is a correlation between traffic accidents
and crime," said Capt. Dan Tennis of the Shawnee Police Department.
"And when you merge those two locations together, that would be
considered a hot spot. The economic times force us to do more with
less, and what we're trying to do is put police officers in areas
where they can become effective."
The program is so
successful that police said they are going to try it in other areas,
such as along Shawnee Mission Parkway.
Other
municipalities have taken note. Lawrence has asked for assistance on
how to start its own program.
