Slowing down in Bangor

In only six months of increased traffic patrols by the Bangor Police Department, the improvement in traffic around the city is noticeable. The public has plenty of reason to support this change which should make for a better – certainly safer – place to live.

It isn’t just the increased number of warnings and citations, although those are up substantially. And it isn’t just the drop in personal injury traffic accidents, although those are down by about half to 87 for the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year. It is the sense that at a time when half the country seems to have concluded traffic laws no longer apply to them and the other half is fed up with it, Bangor PD is doing something about the problem.

Starting last December, police began using a combination of grant and drug forfeiture money to pay for a speed-monitoring trailer and overtime costs to increase surveillance of speeding and potential OUI drivers. The trailer totes a large digital display of an approaching car’s speed. Placed in various neighborhoods around the city, it stands like an illuminated accusation, telling a driver that he is cruising at 40 in a 25 mph zone. The brake lights go on, and at least for the rest of that trip anyway, the driver is aware of his speed.

The officers, though, do the real work. They have to find the balance in choosing when to stop someone, when to warn and when to issue a ticket. Too few stops, and residents say the police are ineffective; too many, and the word harassment comes up frequently. Clearly, Bangor a significant portion of Bangor residents thought dangerous driving previously was too low on the police priority list. This year’s new emphasis is more than welcome.

And it affects more than the number of traffic accidents. The Washington Post recently reported on a study at Crnegie Mellon University that, using data from 171 U.S. cities, found a correlation between heightened police patrols, including the issuing of traffic tickets, and a drop in robbery rates. Among the conclusions of this study is the idea that the active involvement of police in mundane matters like traffic patrol gets the word out that there are easier places to commit robberies. Crime either goes elsewhere or does not occur at all.

It may be too soon to tell yet whether that effect is felt in Bangor, but police here deserve thanks for listening to the concerns of the public, devising a reasonable plan to address them and quickly producing positive results.