As it ramps up enforcement at the top motor vehicle accident locations in town, the New Canaan Police Department also will start clocking motorists’ speeds more frequently than it has so far this year, officials said.
So far in 2018, NCPD has seen a nearly 50 percent drop in its use of radar from last year, members of the Police Commission noted during the group’s most recent meeting.
“Are we just enforcing less?” Commissioner Jim McLaughlin asked at the July 18 meeting, held at police headquarters.
Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said that yes, officers “are just not setting up as much as they can, and not making as many stops as they are able to.”
“So that is part of the effort to refocus toward accident locations and giving people directions and the reason why we are doing this is that we want to reduce accidents, it’s not to stop people indiscriminately,” Krolikowski said. “That’s part of our refocus, so I am expecting to see those numbers go in the right direction as we continue to refocus the efforts.”
The increased speed enforcement comes as the department reported a drop in total motor vehicle violations cited, at the meeting, from 3,178 at this time last year to 2,237 in 2018. Property damage accidents were comparable year over year, down from 236 to 227 in the same time period, while injuries from motor vehicles were up from 18 to 20.