Community Relations - Operation Safe Stop
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Operation Safe Stop is a Duluth Police Department C.O.P.S (Community Oriented Policing) safety initiative designed as an active effort to secure the safety of school bus stops located in the City of Duluth. This is accomplished through three objectives:
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Education
Education is accomplished through several different areas. Children are often
encountered at their bus stops during Safe Stop patrols in the mornings or
afternoons. Officers can speak with the children one on one about safety, talk
with their parents and give them safety themed handouts and items.
Local PTA’s are contacted and encouraged to participate along with Public Schools and local home owners associations.
Driver’s caught violating school bus laws are also given a handout explaining Georgia Law and when vehicles are required to stop for school buses.
There are other educational programs being considered such as a Bus Safety Expo at local schools which would allow students the opportunity participate “hands-on” to discover the how they can be safer at school bus stops. Activities may include a School Bus evacuation, Stranger Danger and allow students to see for themselves the danger zones around a bus.
Enforcement
Information from various sources is compiled to identify school bus stops with
ongoing traffic problems, also known as “hotspots” where vehicles frequently
illegally pass the school bus. These lists are updated regularly and provided to
officers of the Duluth police Department. Officers are encouraged to patrol
these bus stops during routes and motorists who illegally pass a school bus are
ticketed.
A survey was completed on August 28, 2006 with 45 Gwinnett County Public Schools bus drivers assigned to the Duluth area. During this one day survey 137 vehicles were reported to illegally pass school buses. This number averaged over a full school year would be 24,660 violations just in Duluth.
As part of a pilot program, a camera was installed at the beginning of the 2006 school year, on the outside of a Gwinnett County school Bus with routes in Duluth. The camera captures vehicles coming and going as they illegally pass the school bus. So far this year, an average of approximately 15-20 vehicles are recorded passing this bus each week.
Coming Soon: Sample recordings taken from the school bus camera in Duluth.
Community Involvement
In an effort to enhance the safety of our bus stops while reestablishing a
link between the community and the Police Department, Operation Safe Stop now
utilizes community volunteers to monitor bus stop locations. Volunteer bus
monitors make sure the children are safe as they wait, load and unload from the
bus. Selected volunteer monitors are first given an orientation and
identification badge, and then they are assigned to a bus stop.
The monitors report suspicious activity or persons, problems involving illegal passing of the school buses and report problems such as bullying and fights. The monitor will act as an extra pair of eyes and ears and report directly to the Police Department. The monitor also enjoys a direct line of communication with the Operation Safe Stop coordinator who can respond and track reported problems.
In addition to bus stop monitoring, education and enforcement remain active and important parts of Operation Safe Stop. Information from various sources is compiled to identify bus stops with ongoing traffic problems. Officers with the Duluth Police Department are then provided with these “hotspot” locations where there are reports of vehicles illegally passing the school bus. Officers are also encouraged to meet with children at the bus stops to provide a positive Police interaction and to promote bus stop safety.
The success of the program depends on input and involvement from school officials as well as parents, children and the community in general. Gwinnett County School Transportation is an active partner and participant in Operation Safe Stop and with their help; we believe this program will provide a higher level of safety for our community and our children.
If you would like more information about Operation Safe Stop, please email Officer J. Lacow with the Duluth Police C.O.P.S. Unit at jlacow@duluthpd.com or call 678-475-3513.