The “defund the police” movement in many cities has curtailed a tool employed by many officers to suppress crime—the judicious use “proactive patrol.” Police in those cities have become reluctant to engage in activity that may bring criticism from those attempting to eliminate police services. The result has been significant increases in crime in those communities.
Rather than take a passive approach—basically waiting for the phone to ring to report a crime—proactive officers actively look for violations.
A Ruston police officer on patrol garnered two felony arrests this past weekend after stopping motorists for traffic violations.
On Saturday morning at about 3 a.m., RPD Officer A. Eleam stopped a vehicle traveling the wrong way on North Trenton Street near Interstate 20. Once Eleam identified the driver, a warrants check revealed 19-year-old Malachi M. Burks of Haughton was wanted by Bossier Parish for three counts of armed robbery. Burks was arrested and transported to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center to await transfer back to Bossier Parish.
Shortly after midnight Sunday morning, Eleam spotted a man on a motorcycle run the red light at North Trenton and Alabama Avenue. Eleam attempted to stop the motorcycle and at Trenton and Texas Avenue, the cyclist threw down a small plastic container, and continued south to the 600 block of Trenton where he stopped. James E. Hanson, III, 42, of Bernice, first denied throwing anything. When told the container had been recovered, Hanson said he threw it down because it contained “meth” and he was scared. As Hanson was being handcuffed, Eleam found a glass pipe commonly used to ingest drugs in Hanson’s hand.
Hanson was booked at the Detention Center for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, running a red light, and obstruction of justice (tampering with evidence). Bail was set at $30,000.
Several studies show many serious crime arrests arise from stops for traffic violations.
The National Police Association recently reminded readers in an article that Timothy McVeigh, the bomber who destroyed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and killed 168, was captured leaving the scene by an Oklahoma state trooper after a traffic stop for a minor violation. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) advocates employing highly-visible targeted traffic enforcement strategies to address high crash and crime incidences. A NHTSA technical report notes the knowledge that crimes often involve the use of motor vehicles supports the use of judicious enforcement “to reduce the incidence of traffic violations, crashes and crime in communities across the country.”
