Vehicle Crash Information
During the month of January 2013, the La Porte Police Department investigated 41 property damage traffic crashes and 10 personal injury traffic crashes. Unfortunately, two of the personal injury crashes were alcohol related. These figures compare very favorably to the 60 property damage traffic crashes, 10 personal injury traffic crashes and one fatal traffic crash investigated in January 2012. A portion of this reduction may be attributable to the relatively good weather condition we experienced for most of January 2013.
February Enforcement Plans
During the month of February 2013, the La Porte Police Department will be working 30 hours of Operation Pull Over funded seat belt patrols. We will also be working DUI: Taskforce Indiana funded impaired driving patrols on the weekends in conjunction with the other departments participating in the La Porte County DUI Taskforce. All citizens are reminded to always buckle up, never, ever drive impaired and to be sure to allow plenty of travel time, especially when the driving conditions are poor.
Operation Pull Over and DUI: Taskforce Indiana are grant programs funded by federal highway safety money and are administered at the state level by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. All citizens should remember that in addition to enhancing traffic safety in our community; these programs also put additional officers on the street increasing the chances of apprehending more criminals.
During this past year, as in previous years, officers working overtime funded by these programs have also made a number of excellent criminal arrests including persons wanted for serious felonies. Officers working these extra patrols, also during the course of their patrol duties, made arrests for a number of drug charges including dealing in heroin, cocaine and marijuana charges.