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Authorities to step up patrols
Published Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Alexander City Police Department, Alabama Marine Police and Alabama State Troopers plan to increase supervision to keep the area safe during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The ACPD will have five or six extra officers for the patrol division and Crime Interdiction Task Force for the weekend.
“We’re adding additional personnel for the weekend to address what is historically an increase in call volume,” Police Chief Charles Rafford said.
Rafford said the weekend should bring an increase in calls about domestic incidents, alcohol, drugs and fireworks as traffic increases in the area. The ACPD plans to run normal patrols, but the additional officers should help handle the increased call volume.
“We’re out and looking and being proactive,” Rafford said. “We’re just stepping up throughout the city. It’s a city-wide effort.”
The Alabama State Troopers will also have extra officers patrolling over the weekend beginning Thursday evening and ending at Sunday midnight.
The increased patrols and officers were made possible because of grant money provided by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and the Alabama Department of Transportation.
“We’re going to have every available trooper working,” Cpl. Steve Jarrett said. “We’ll be doing different types of enforcement such as checkpoints, laser speed details and line patrols.”
Jarrett said the increased supervision, particularly line patrols, will keep people safe from impaired or dangerous drivers and provide help to motorists in need.
“Line patrols are when we position troopers every so many miles to be highly visible and to provide service to motorists,” Jarrett said.
The Alabama Marine Police will have three boats on Lake Martin over the holiday weekend. The police will not have additional officers working, but they will work regular hours.
“We’re kind of peculiar in that we don’t do anything different except we don’t let people take off for the holiday,” Sgt. Gary Buchanan said.
The marine police will patrol the entire area, but the will focus on the Kowaliga area on July 4 until well after the fireworks show ends.
“Fourth of July is usually the busiest holiday on the lake. With the increased traffic we see more accidents and more complaints,” Jarrett said.
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