Police write more than 2,000 tickets in speed crackdown

By Jeremy Twitchell

Friday, March 27, 2009 | 4:06 p.m.

Southern Nevada police agencies performing saturation patrols to nab speeders issued 2,036 citations in the first two weeks of March, the Nevada Department of Public Safety said today.

Officers from the Metro, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City and Mesquite police departments joined with the Nevada Highway Patrol and sheriff's offices in Lincoln and Nye counties for the crackdown.

Henderson Police issued the most citations, with 635. Nevada Highway Patrol followed with 432; Mesquite Police issued 320 and the other agencies issued 200 or fewer.

The operation was funded by Joining Forces, a Nevada Department of Public Safety program that funded overtime hours for participating officers.

The 2,036 citations issued this year more than doubled the 880 tickets written during last year's event. The citations were written by officers participating specifically in the Joining Forces Program and do not include those handed out through regular traffic enforcement.

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Kevin Honea attributed the dramatic increase to the participation of more officers and a better focus on problem areas.

"This is our most high-profile speed enforcement campaign," Honea said. "The goal is to increase awareness of the problems we see throughout this valley and throughout this state with drivers exceeding posted speed limits."

Henderson Police spokesman Todd Rasmussen said the patrol's goal was simple. "We want everybody to slow down and keep our roadways safe," he said.

Honea said the No. 1 complaint the Highway Patrol receives is from people reporting bad drivers and complaining that no troopers are there to stop them. The No. 2 complaint, he said, is from people asking why patrolmen issue so many tickets.

"It's a hot-button issue," he said.

The saturation speed patrol was a kickoff event for this year's Joining Forces activities, Honea said. There will be more events focusing on speed enforcement and other traffic laws. In May, he said, Joining Forces will do saturation patrols to enforce seat belt laws.

Jeremy Twitchell can be reached at 990-8928 or [email protected].