FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Police Announce New Crime Fighting Initiative

First Of Its Kind In Hampton Roads

The Newport News Police Department will be using traffic enforcement in a new crime fighting effort beginning Wednesday, September 15, 2010.

The Newport News Police Department will be using traffic enforcement in a new crime fighting effort beginning Wednesday, September 15, 2010. In order to not interfere with normal patrol duties, the initiative will involve officers working overtime. The officers will be paid overtime through a Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles grant to patrol areas that, according to crime analysis information, are experiencing high incidents of crime. The officers will patrol the designated areas with a primary focus on enforcing traffic laws. While the officers will not necessarily answer routine calls for service, they will respond to any emergencies.

Because it is known that persons who commit crimes are often driving to and from the areas in which they operate, it is believed that the highly visible traffic enforcement efforts of the Data Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) program will greatly discourage criminal activity as well as assist in the Department’s crime fighting and prevention efforts in these areas.

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