Cheney police boosts its traffic enforcement as other activity declines

By BECKY THOMAS

Staff Reporter

If there was a time to speed in Cheney, that time was the first half of 2011. Traffic enforcement is on the rise after police contacts with drivers sunk to less than 150 per month this spring.

According to the Cheney Police Department's monthly accountability review, officers made 215 stops in May and 208 in June following lower-than-average numbers earlier this year. Traffic enforcement is still down for the year, with 36 percent fewer contacts and 47 percent fewer citations through June compared to 2010.

Commander Rick Campbell said the increase in traffic stops was a deliberate move by sergeants to get more officers working the roads. While activity was high and the police force was sparse due to injuries and officers leaving earlier this year, Campbell said the department is back to a full staff and calls, reports and arrests are down.

“That's telling me there's time to work traffic,” he said. “We've redoubled our efforts.”

Sixty crimes were reported in June, down from 78 in May, which marked the high so far this year. There were five car thefts in June, the highest of the year.

“Five is high for Cheney, but not unheard of,” Campbell said, adding that none of the five thefts have produced arrests.

Calls for service dipped in June with 605, down from 725 in May. Campbell said he expected activity to stay on the slow side through the summer.

“Things are pretty quiet,” he said. “The (university) students are all gone.”

Budget concerns have also been alleviated for the police department. Short staffing pushed overtime pay to $15,000 through the first half of the year with a budget of just $16,000. The department utilized $34,000 from the general fund that had been set aside for a new patrol vehicle to pad strained sections of the budget, including overtime and vehicle maintenance. Campbell said it would have cost $50,000 for a new car, so they decided to use the money set aside to beef up maintenance on the existing fleet and take the pressure off the overtime fund. The overall budget was at 49 percent expensed through June.

In the IT department, staff completed installation of a new phone system and handled an audit of the Access system, which officers use to check criminal history of people they contact. The audit was completed with a few minor issues, which have since been handled.

Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].