College Relations
Campus police plan extra patrols with public safety grant
November 10, 2004
Jim Glynn at 978-542-7519 or james.glynn@salemstate.edu
 SALEM - The Governor's Highway Safety Bureau of Massachusetts has awarded $8,400 to the Salem State College Police Department for increased traffic law enforcement.
"The money will be used to promote education and safety," said Rich Sherry, a sergeant on the Salem State force who authored the grant application. "We will spend $3,000 for new equipment and use the remaining $5,400 to implement two education initiatives."
The first initiative is the "Click It or Ticket" campaign. It will educate motorists on the use of seat belts. The second program will focus on the dangers of drinking and driving with the "You Drive and Drink, You Lose" campaign.
"Mobilizing these programs requires us to have more officers on duty," said Sherry. "The more police we have on patrol the better we can enforce the traffic laws. The real focus, however, is education," he added. "If we stop a motorist for a minor violation like having a tail light out, and observe that he or she is wearing a seatbelt, we'll thank them. We won't give that driver a ticket for the minor infraction."
Both initiatives will require additional staffing of campus police and will be carried out in the form of five separate mobilizations. The "Click It or Ticket" campaign will run November 15 - 28, 2004 and May 13 - June 5, 2005. The "You Drink and Drive, You Lose" program will run December 17, 2004 to January 3, 2005, July 1 - 17, 2005 and August 26 - September 11, 2005.
"In short, we are authorized to purchase much needed equipment and increase patrols during peak traffic times," said Brian Pray, chief of the Salem State College Police.
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