OPERATION BUCKLEDOWN
"DeKalb County Law Enforcement Buckling Down on Buckling Up"
Sgt. John R. Gardner, Commander
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OPERATION BUCKLEDOWN evolved from a briefing session held on Dec. 17th, 1997 by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety that was attended by many government, business and civil leaders. The briefing session approached the problem of occupant safety as a health issue, and law enforcement's role was presented. After the session I proposed to DeKalb Police Management that all law enforcement agencies within DeKalb County conduct an occupant protection campaign, which would be called OPERATION BUCKLEDOWN. The theme would be that all law enforcement within DeKalb County would 'buckle down on buckling up' for the week of Valentines 1998. The campaign would include one multi-jurisdictional roadblock to be held on Buford Highway on Valentines Day. Permission from DeKalb Police Management was granted.
On January 29th I held a planning session for OPERATION BUCKLEDOWN with many of the law enforcement agencies within DeKalb County. I explained the importance of an occupant protection campaign, how each agency would benefit from the campaign, and how the campaign was to be conducted. Those agencies that were unable to attend the planning session were contacted and given the chance to participate in OPERATION BUCKLEDOWN. All law enforcement agencies within DeKalb County stated that their agency would participate. Most agencies agreed to send officers and patrol cars to the roadblock on Valentines Day.
All patrol officers were to be instructed that whenever they observed a seat belt or child restraint violation, then a citation would be issued. Warning citations were not to be written. Each officer would be given a form to keep statistics individually for OPERATION BUCKLEDOWN. To assist the DeKalb County officers, I prepared an information sheet explaining the seat belt law. Totals for each agency would be faxed or sent to the STAR Team, and I would compile the final statistics.
On Feb. 14th, the multi-jurisdictional roadblock was conducted from 1000 hours to 1200 hours. The theme was "Buckle up for the one you love". There were twelve agencies represented, with 52 officers participating in the roadblock. Conducting the child safety seat inspections were Randall Townley from Cooperative Extension Service/Occupant Protection Program, and Marianne Robinson of Safe Kids of DeKalb. Also in attendance were Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, Director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety Tim Jones, and N.H.T.S.A. Regional Administrator Troy Ayres. Progressive Insurance provided a Spanish interpreter. Television and radio media were also in attendance. The following statistics were obtained from that roadblock:
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The weekly statistics for OPERATION BUCKLEDOWN from all 14 agencies are as follows:
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AGENCY:
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Agnes Scott |
Avondale |
Chamblee |
Clarkston |
Decatur |
DeKalb PD |
DeKalb SO |
Doraville |
Emory Univ |
Lithonia |
Pine Lake |
Stn Mtn PD |
Mercer Univ |
GSP |
Totals |
Roadblock |
Grand Total |
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Seat Belt Vio |
4 |
0 |
336 |
10 |
56 |
1116 |
31 |
17 |
5 |
19 |
27 |
143 |
23 |
104 |
1891 |
129 |
2020 |
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Child Restraint Vio |
0 |
0 |
36 |
1 |
2 |
86 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
21 |
0 |
8 |
163 |
17 |
180 |
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No Proof of Ins. |
1 |
2 |
53 |
13 |
31 |
411 |
5 |
25 |
1 |
0 |
16 |
26 |
14 |
50 |
648 |
60 |
708 |
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Susp Drivers License |
0 |
0 |
6 |
12 |
15 |
142 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
13 |
4 |
13 |
219 |
1 |
220 |
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DUI |
0 |
1 |
0 |
14 |
9 |
26 |
1 |
32 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
88 |
1 |
89 |
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Other |
1 |
27 |
71 |
63 |
86 |
1609 |
31 |
31 |
9 |
19 |
33 |
52 |
0 |
291 |
2323 |
16 |
2339 |
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Drug arrests |
0 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
12 |
33 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
62 |
0 |
62 |
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Other felony |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
43 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
56 |
0 |
56 |
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Fugitive Apprehended |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
23 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
38 |
0 |
38 |
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Stolen Vehicles Rec. |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
30 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
36 |
0 |
36 |
The following is the grand total of the weekly enforcement and the roadblock:
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Attached is a breakdown of the enforcement effort by agency. The City of Chamblee is to be commended for really applying themselves to this project. The City of Stone Mountain also did a good job enforcing the occupant protection laws. The South and East Precincts of the DeKalb County Uniform Division are to be commended for their efforts too.
Even though the campaign is over, I feel that this effort can be applied towards the next wave of STRAP 'N SNAP, which will be March 25th through March 31st. Let's prepare now for this enforcement campaign.
AGENCIES INVOLVED/CONTACT PERSON:
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