BUCKLE UP
(Officers Erv WeeSit and Heidi Sonntag conduct a stop during the IMaGE grant detail)
If you’ve noticed a stronger than usual police presence in
Hickory Hills during the past year, there is a reason. In 2006 the Hickory Hills
Police Department received a traffic safety grant to help place extra officers
on the street for traffic details. The grant, called an IMaGE (Integrated
Mini-Grant Enforcement), is given to police departments which can identify
specific areas within their cities where the greatest number of injury accidents
occur and develop a plan to reduce that number. The two specific violations
which lead to the greatest number of injuries and fatalities are speeding and
failure to wear a seat belt.
Due to the fact that there are more cars on the road during the holidays, the
number of accidents involving injuries or death also increases. The state pays
overtime to officers from departments who receive this grant to act as traffic
officers during the Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Memorial Day,
Independence Day, and Labor Day holidays.
The Hickory Hills Police Department received a grant in the amount of $27,056.75
which paid not only for the officer’s overtime, but also for mileage and a new
radar unit. During the 5 phases of the grant, a total of 675 citations were
issued for seat belt violations, 305 citations were issued for speeding, 34 for
failure to secure a child, 41 for driving without proof of insurance, and 17
misc. other citations were issued for a grand total of 1,084 citations. In
addition, 12 arrests were made for driving while suspended or revoked, and 2
fugitives were apprehended. The final phase of the grant ran from August 27th
through September 9th. Due to the success of the grant, IDOT has approved
another grant which will run through Sept. 30 2008. We hope that by having these
extra officers on the street during these key times of the year we can reduce
the number of injury accidents which occur in our city.