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Published on Wednesday, September 24, 2003
in the Tampa Tribune
Candace Samolinski's article ``Despite More Troopers, Deaths Rise'' (Metro, Sept. 7) was written to report the results of the Florida Highway Patrol's ``Pasco project.''
The Pasco project involved the assignment of 15 additional troopers to Pasco County in order to determine what kind of impact there would be on our operations when a county was fully staffed in accordance with a nationally recognized manpower staffing formula that we utilize. Our main goals of this project were to reduce traffic deaths, reduce response times to crashes and other calls for service, increase coverage of our patrol zones, increase FHP visibility, increase proactive patrol hours, increase traffic enforcement and increase assistance to the motoring public.
Although the number of traffic deaths did increase in Pasco County during the pilot period of the project, it is important to note that between 2001 and 2002, the estimated number of vehicle miles driven in Pasco increased by 15 percent. We all know and experience firsthand the increased amount of traffic on our roadways.
We are extremely pleased with what our hard-working troopers in Pasco accomplished during the pilot period. We experienced significant increases in nearly every enforcement category, including a 417 percent increase in drug arrests, a 68 percent increase in DUI arrests, a 147 percent increase in felony arrests, a 303 percent increase in commercial motor vehicle citations, a 120 percent increase in seat belt citations, a 96 percent increase in aggressive driver citations, a 91 percent increase in speeding citations and a 93 percent increase in total arrests.
Our troopers also investigated 22 percent more traffic crashes during the pilot period, meaning that Sheriff Bob White's deputies could concentrate on calls for service other than traffic crash investigations. The FHP enjoys an excellent working relationship with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office and appreciates its support and involvement in making this project a success.
As predicted, the Pasco project proved that if a county is fully staffed, significant benefits will be realized. We will be conveying this positive news to our state legislators as we all prepare for next year's legislative session.
CHRISTOPHER A. KNIGHT Tallahassee
The writer is director of the Florida Highway Patrol.