Mesa Police Awarded Grant For Seat Belt Enforcement
September 22, 2009
The Mesa Police Department has been awarded a $50,000.00 grant
from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) as part of
NHTSA's "Click It or Ticket Next Generation" seat belt
enforcement pilot program. The Mesa Police Department, along
with 27 other law enforcement agencies in Maricopa and Pima
Counties, was hand-selected by GOHS to implement a demonstration
project to test the effects of conducting multiple, interim seat
belt enforcement mobilization periods. The goal of the program
is to sustain and increase the seat belt usage rates in Maricopa
and Pima Counties.
Starting on October 26, 2009, officers from the Mesa Police
Department will begin high profile visibility and traffic stops
to enforce vehicle occupant protection laws. The overtime funds
will have the effect of keeping officers on the street and
enforcing the law for longer periods of time than their usual
work week would normally allow. The guidelines of the grant
require that law enforcement personnel make a sufficient number
of self-initiated contacts per shift to justify the funding and
police officers are expected to issue citations for all seat
belt and child safety seat violations during these enforcement
programs.
As one of only 27 agencies in the State to be selected for
participation, we are both fortunate and very excited to be
included in this grant funded pilot program. Historically, the
Mesa Police Department has been a strong partner of the
Governor's Office of Highway Safety. The Mesa Police Department
would like to recognize the continued support of the Governor's
Office of Highway Safety of our traffic safety and education
programs in the City of Mesa. During the regular 2008 "Click It
or Ticket" campaign, officers of the Mesa Police Department
issued 399 seat belt citations during a two-week enforcement
period.
Buckle Up Mesa!