The Wichita Police Department received a Gold Star Award this week from the Bureau of Traffic Safety Kansas Department of Transportation. The award is for outstanding performance in the Special Traffic Enforcement Program that the Department has conducted in 2002.
The Wichita Police Department was one of only a few law enforcement agencies in Kansas to receive the Gold Star Award. The award recognizes law enforcement agencies that were able to increase overall seatbelt usage in their community and for which seatbelt and child restraint violations accounted for at least 30 percent of all the traffic citations issued in conjunction with the Special Traffic Enforcement Program.
To determine seatbelt usage in Wichita, WPD conducted a survey in November 2001 and determined seatbelt usage to be at 56.8 percent in Wichita. After conducting numbers traffic enforcement exercises, the Department conducted another survey in September 2002 and found that seatbelt usage had increased to 61 percent. Of the 2362 citations issued as a part of the Special Traffic Enforcement Program, 717, or 30.4 percent, were for seatbelt/child restraint violations.
For more information please contact Sgt. Rusty Leeds 688-9500, Sgt. Allen Wolf 688-9331, Sgt. Jerry Quick 941-0673 or Sgt. Donnie Phelps 337-9200.