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News › Troopers Revving Up Frequency of Blitzes
50 officers will patrol 5 deadliest counties 4 days.
The Alabama Department of Public Safety says motorists should expect more frequent, unannounced state trooper highway blitzes this year in areas where more deadly accidents occur.
Chris Murphy, director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety, said four areas of the state have been targeted for individual Take Back Our Highways campaigns this year. Topping the list is a blitz jointly planned for Mobile and Baldwin counties, where 90 people were killed in highway crashes last year.
Other counties targeted because of the high number of highway deaths are Chilton, with 24 people were killed in crashes last year; Tuscaloosa, 31; and Cullman, 39, according to DPS.
There also will be at least one statewide blitz using about 400 troopers, similar to the campaigns last year.
The regional blitzes will be called 50/4 campaigns because 50 state troopers will patrol the counties for four days.
"We are trying to get more creative. We are trying to not just write tickets," Murphy said. "If we wanted to do that, we could target I-459 to give speeding tickets, which is like fishing in a barrel. We want strategic enforcement."
30 new Chargers:
Murphy plans to put more unmarked patrol cars on state highways, including 30 new Dodge Chargers. The unmarked cars will have DPS emblems on the passenger doors and officers will be in uniform.
Murphy also plans to put more marked vehicles on the highways, and this year he plans to use DPS' 18 motorcycles as part of the traffic blitzes.
Murphy said the department tried last year to do things differently by using all its sworn DPS personnel to patrol traffic during two statewide traffic blitzes.
"We gambled that it would produce better results, and it did," Murphy said. "We have had a lower number of highway fatalities and a lower number of crashes and injuries. That's significant."
Alabama traffic deaths investigated by state troopers last year dropped 7 percent to 767, the lowest number in four years.
Murphy said the reduction in the number of highway deaths, injuries and crashes will help him in his bid this year for funding from the Legislature. "I can tell them this is where we are, and these are the improvements that we have made in one year. Please continue to fund us so we don't backslide."
Staffing shortages:
Murphy also is trying new techniques for department hiring.
"We graduated 12 new troopers, and in January, 12 retired. It's frustrating," he said. "We hire somebody, and as soon as they get off probation, they put in a request for a transfer."
Troopers have complained for years about being transferred around the state, at times away from their families. Last month the department began regional recruiting for state troopers. "We are going to let troopers return to the county they want to go back to," he said.
Staff spent three days in Mobile hiring troopers for Baldwin and Mobile counties. State personnel officials accompanied DPS staff to Mobile. Tests were graded on the spot, and those eligible were given physical fitness tests. The recruiting resulted in 192 applicants now undergoing background checks.
"If I get 75 out of that number, that will be huge," Murphy said. Murphy said he hopes the new recruiting tool will improve morale.
He warned that there may be times when he has to transfer personnel. "But we are trying to keep it ... minimal," he said.
DPS will continue to hire troopers from police and sheriff's departments. "They are our best advertisements," Murphy said. "I think more than salary, I am convinced that the desire to come on with us should be desire to wear that uniform.
"We have challenges, but I think my job is to make this the best department it can be. We may not be able to compete with Pelham or Hoover police departments salarywise, but I think where we win is by `That's what I want to be when I grow up.'"
Only 12 of the state's 66 counties have the number of state troopers that a 1981 DPS study said was needed. The shortage is more prevalent in Walker, Barbour, Butler and Lowndes counties.
For instance, Walker needs 13 troopers, but it has only two, Murphy said. "We are going to concentrate on Walker."
There are no troopers in Barbour County and three are needed, Butler County needs eight troopers and has two. Lowndes needs six troopers and has one, according to DPS.
The state has 360 road troopers. The 1981 report, the latest survey, found the state needed 574 to ensure highway safety.
Other developments:
Murphy points to the new Mobile trooper post and a new $3 million helicopter, bought with federal money, as examples of capital improvements. "We have done more without a lot more funding to make the department more efficient," Murphy said.
The department also plans to break ground for the new trooper academy in Selma this year. DPS is partnering with the state Department of Corrections and Wallace Community College to build the $24 million facility on the college campus.
Murphy said the number of complaints about the wait in driver license offices is down because the department has begun online driver test appointments, increased hours at some driver license offices and hired additional personnel. "Driver license was one of the main source of complaints. Now I will go for months without a driver license complaint."
The director said tighter security causes driver license applicants to have to wait. "It takes time, but we can be courteous." he said.
Source: The Birmingham News
Posted by editor on Friday, February 22, 2008 (21:05:42) (233 reads)
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