El Centro Police Department says there’s no need for speed
ECPD is listening to residents about their concerns with motorist speeding through residential areas - News 11's Vanessa Gongora reports
EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The El Centro Police Department (ECPD) has been conducting traffic enforcement on the problem areas reported by the citizens.
The main problem areas of motorist speeding reported are by school zones. There are 16 schools in El Centro and Sgt. John Seaman said they get constant complaints about speeding in those various areas.
Because of these reports, ECPD will target a different school zone without notifying the public where they will be to conduct enforcement.
Every morning the patrol teams goes out before they start getting busy with calls of service. The officer will pick a certain area, such as a school or location where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic, specifically children walking to school and will conduct proactive enforcement by running radar.
"So even though you may be pulling away from the officer..going in the opposite direction..the radar gun will still pick up your speed..and we can still turn around and go after you and give you a speeding ticket that way," Sgt. Seaman said.
McKinley Elementary School's computer lab supervisor, Magdalena Gonzalez, has seen many car accidents when parents drop off or pick up their children.
"We've had situations where the kids almost get ran over because they don't stop," Magdalena said.
The pupil supervisor of McKinley Elementary School, Karina Solis, says it's very dangerous in the school vicinity but they have seen more officers monitoring the area.
"Actually we do, like this year we have more police around us and helping us and that makes us feel a little more comfortable," said Solis.
Sgt. Seaman has responded to many crash sites where speeding was the main factor.
"All I can do is tell people to slow down because sometimes slower is faster. It's going to get you to where you're going versus getting in a wreck and being tied up, not having a car, your car being out of service, being towed to a body shop, so slow down," says Seaman.
Sgt. Seaman said he wishes they could surveil all areas of speed complaints but it depends on staffing levels and if they have the ability to actually send someone out there to monitor the area.
The El Centro Police Department says 127 speeding citations have already been issued this year so far as of last week.
Officers want you to stay safe and slow down.
Citizens can notify ECPD of any traffic problem areas by calling the dispatch center non-emergency line at (760) 352-2111 or contact the command staff directly who then passes the information down to the troops. They can also be contacted through the El Centro Police Department facebook page or instagram.
