In an effort to make Edmonton’s roads safer, a special team of police officers will be cracking down on drivers who they say pose the highest criminal risk to the community.
Edmonton police are rolling out new teams, dubbed Specialized Traffic Apprehension Teams (STAT) to target what they call the city’s ‘100 worst drivers’.
“The goal of these two interconnected initiatives is to provide an enhanced level of public safety on the roads, by targeting the drivers who pose the highest criminal risk to the community,” Insp. Kevin Galvin with the Edmonton Police Service’s Traffic Section said Tuesday.
STAT members will use specialized computer software to search police records for behavioural patterns – in relation to traffic violations and criminal investigations.
The software will search for specific elements, including speeding, driving with a suspended license and/or no insurance, along with other criminal investigations such as weapons and drug possession.
That program will then come up with a list of people who fit the criteria – once they have the list, STAT investigators will build a plan to investigate and deal with the issues.
Officers will also patrol high risk areas with traffic enforcement concerns.
Police say the teams will target vehicles and occupants involved in illegal activities, while cracking down on distracted and impaired drivers, as well as speeders.
“The intelligence gathered identifies a list of active mobile criminals and their pattern of behaviour and ranks them from one to 100. STAT will target these individuals based on their criminal behaviour,” EPS Chief Rod Knecht said.
Knecht says officers will be on the streets around the clock in an effort to reduce the number of traffic violations and collisions on city streets.
EPS hope the increase in police presence will also deter others from making future traffic violations.
With files from Ashley Molnar
