CCSO awarded $78,380 in traffic enforcement tools for leading FDOT District 7 traffic enforcement in 2023
CCSO Traffic Unit with Sheriff Prendergast center, back.
Citrus County, Florida - Last week, the Citrus County Sheriff Office Traffic Unit and Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast attended the Florida Department of Transportation's District 7 Enhanced Law Enforcement Engagement (ELEE) program awards ceremony in Spring Hill, Florida.
The ELEE initiative was launched in 2022 to improve traffic safety through increased traffic enforcement that focused on reducing crashes - striving to reach the FDOT's goal of zero fatal and serious injury crashes within Florida. The FDOT works with the University of South Florida's Center for Urban Transportation Research to compile statistics on traffic crashes. These statistics allow for focused efforts to take place in areas that will make the biggest impact.
FDOT's District 7 is comprised of 25 agencies, which include the Citrus, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando county sheriff's offices, 15 police departments, and 5 Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) troops. Program participants yield awards based on enforcement efforts.
During 2022, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office ranked near the top of all participating agencies. From May to October 2023, CCSO expanded its officer presence on roadways with high crash rates and increased public awareness of the importance of safe driving. During this time, the CCSO Traffic Unit issued 2,776 warnings and 1,707 citations for violations such as speeding, driving under the influence, seatbelt violations, work zone offenses, intersection and moving violations, and aggressive driving. During 2023, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) led District 7 in traffic enforcement efforts. Due to the efforts of the CCSO Traffic Unit, the agency was awarded recognition of first place within District 7, along with $70,380.00 of traffic enforcement tools that included:
• Stalker Speed feedback trailers
• LTI Tru Speed Measurement Lasers
• Intoxilizer 800 Personal Breath Testers
• Pi-Lit Smart Sequential Road Flares
• Guardian Angel Safety Lights
• Enforcer Tint Meters
"Traffic enforcement will always be part of CCSO's Mission of Excellence in Public Safety," said Sheriff Mike Prendergast. "Our dedicated Traffic Unit works aggressively to target dangerous driving behaviors. Traffic engineering, education, and enforcement all must come together to make the biggest impact. I am proud to see our team doing just that."