APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Appleton Police Department is adding a special position to help combat reckless, inattentive driving.
Starting June 1, through the end of the year, the department will employ a full-time Traffic Safety Officer as part of its Traffic Safety Unit pilot program.
This officer will directly address safety and nuisance concerns such as speeding, reckless driving, inattentive or distracted driving, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and aggressive cruising involving the use of disruptive vehicle equipment that pollutes natural air or sound environment.
Police say this was identified as one of the top priorities from the department’s community survey in 2020.
“Cruising and moving car shows have become almost weekly events in the summer, which drains our resources as they typically occur during our busy weekend nights,” said Police Chief Todd Thomas. “When our officers are busy dealing with traffic problems or cruising events, they are pulled out of their districts and normal calls for service are not responded to as quickly.”
In addition to dedicated patrol, the traffic safety officer will field complaints and serve as a main point of contact for community members, working with them to strategize and address areas of concern, educate the community, and promote safe driving and pedestrian behavior.
Previous state grant funding that allowed the department to deploy targeted patrols has seen success. For example, on a Saturday night in November of 2021, Appleton police officers assigned to traffic safety initiatives conducted 26 traffic stops and enforced 16 loud or illegal exhaust violations within four hours.
During the pilot program, feedback will be collected from the Alders, community members and fellow officers to determine if the position/program should be eliminated, continued as-is or expanded moving forward.
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