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Home My WebLink About61B - Selective Enforcement - 2019 Policy & Procedure Page 1 of 3 Lexington Police Department Subject: Selective Traffic Enforcement Policy Number: 61B Accreditation Standards: Reference: 61.1.1(a-f) Effective Date: 1/1/12  New  Revised Revision Dates: 1/24/19 By Order of: Mark J. Corr, Chief of Police GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDELINES The Town of Lexington is a medium sized residential town with many attractions including historical locations and businesses that bring people through the area. Lexington also has the distinction of having two major highways travel through and intersect within its boundaries, Route 95 (128) and Route 2. This daily volume of traffic sometimes creates slowdowns and other issues for people traveling through Lexington. It is a goal of the Lexington Police Department to promote safe and responsible travel within the town’s boundaries. When intersections or streets are identified as problematic with higher frequency of crashes or law violations, the Department will focus efforts at these locations to deter unlawful driving and promote safer roadways. It is the policy of the Lexington Police Department to work to reduce traffic collisions by application of techniques including; enforcement, education, visibility, data collection, engineering, and analysis of specified problem areas. PROCEDURES A. Identifying problem areas 1. Problem areas, intersections, and streets may be identified in a variety of ways, but primarily fall into two categories. a. Documented data collection from prior police involvement through: i. Citations / Written Warnings issued; ii. Motor Vehicle Crash Reports; and iii. Massachusetts Uniform Data Collection Form. b. Problem areas observed by citizens and officers on routine patrols which may be reported to the Department in a variety of ways including; 61B – Selective Enforcement Policy & Procedure Page 2 of 3 i. By citizens via mail, e-mail or phone to the Department outlining problem area; ii. An officer on daily patrol (problem analysis form); iii. Another Town employee; and iv. A “traffic safety request form” (a document provided on the Police Department’s website), that allows citizens to write about the problem, suggest solutions for the problem and include contact information if follow up is needed. B. Compiling and Reviewing Traffic Collision Data [61.1.1(a)] 1. The Captain of Operations and or his designee on a regular basis (and at least annually) will extract collision related data from the in-house computer system. The data from the in-house system may be supplemented by data received from the Commonwealth / Registry of Motor Vehicles pertaining to collisions occurring in the town of Lexington. 2. Data collected should have consistent parameters from year to year. Those parameters should include, but are not limited to: location, time, violation factors, number of vehicles, and weather conditions. C. Implementing Traffic Enforcement Duties for Patrol 1. Based upon the analysis of data collected regarding high crash locations and/or high violation locations, patrol sector cars and enforcement personnel will be directed to specific locations at specific times. [61.1.1(e)] a. Actively enforce observed violations; b. Educate offenders who may not be aware of violations committed; c. Be a visible presence to deter possible violations; and d. Collect further data or information to confirm if the perceived problem exists (e.g. speed/traffic survey, volume survey, time survey). 2. Many of these identified locations will be posted on the electronic traffic bulletin board. This bulletin board is accessible to all officers on the Department’s in-house system, ProPhoenix. These locations will be updated on a regular basis by the police liaison to the Traffic Advisory Safety Committee. 3. The patrol sector car should notify dispatch when they arrive at the location and should clear the location when the assignment is completed. Officer should provide a general overview of the assignment including the number and types of citations written, and any other pertinent information about the location such as traffic conditions. [61.1.1(b)] 4. Dispatch will create a journal note (UCR code 948 in the in-house computer) documenting the specific directed patrol area, time and results. Patrol units may be called from these directed patrols in the event they are needed for a more urgent service call. If this occurs, the Officer assigned should, if possible, return to the direct patrol assignment at a later time. 61B – Selective Enforcement Policy & Procedure Page 3 of 3 D. Comparison of Collision Data and Enforcement Activities Data 1. Just as data was collected and analyzed to determine enforcement location, data from selective enforcement activities will be collected and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the directed patrols and if those directed patrols should continue at that location. [61.1.1(c)] 2. The Captain of Operation or a designee should, at least annually, review to insure that accurate data is collected for both collision and citation data, and evaluate the selective traffic enforcement activities at any particular location. [61.1.1(f)] E. Use of Equipment and Specialized Personnel 1. The Lexington Police Department will utilize a variety of techniques to accomplish the ultimate goal of a reduction in the number of traffic collisions. Certain techniques will be action oriented while others will simply involve mechanical devices. These techniques and devices include; [61.1.1(d)] a. Motorcycle officer (if staffed) designated specifically to traffic enforcement; b. Speed / Radar trailers; c. Mechanical Traffic counters for both speed and volume; d. Electronic portable sign boards; e. Participation in traffic related federal grant programs; f. Use of handheld RADAR and LIDAR devices; and g. Police observations and follow-up at troubled and hazardous locations.