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SUMMIT COUNTY - Summit County Sheriff John Minor is having his citizens advisory committee mull over his proposal to help enforce speeding in Summit County by giving citizens radar guns.
If this idea is accepted, volunteers would sit on the side of the road in their vehicles and clock speeding motorists.
They would not have any contact with motorists and would never be responsible for issuing citations.
Instead, the volunteers would forward the license plate number to the Sheriff's office, which would then send out a letter politely asking the violator to slow down.
Sheriff Minor received mixed reviews after he presented the idea to the committee last Thursday evening.
"We talked about it and obviously some people were concerned about the safety of the people on the side of the road, but we did state that those people would take no law enforcement action," Minor said.
Minor stressed the program would be used only as a friendly reminder to people who are driving too fast.
He said that if, down the line, the program is adopted, the public will be education about how it will work before volunteers take to the streets.
The idea sparked from an article Minor read in the Denver Post about a community in the Denver area that had begun using citizens to enforce speeding.
He also said using citizens to help enforce laws isn't a new occurrence in Summit County.
"We used to do something similar to this in Silverthorne, when we had people with disabilities take photos of people illegally parking in handicapped spaces, " Minor said.
Minor asked the committee to talk with friends and family members to get a better idea of how the community as a whole feels about the proposal, but said, regardless, it would be months before the idea became a reality.
"Even if they were to come back (in February) with response from family and friends, we wouldn't even fire this up until March, assuming we get positive feedback," Minor said.
Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 229, or at nformosa@summitdaily.com
If this idea is accepted, volunteers would sit on the side of the road in their vehicles and clock speeding motorists.
They would not have any contact with motorists and would never be responsible for issuing citations.
Instead, the volunteers would forward the license plate number to the Sheriff's office, which would then send out a letter politely asking the violator to slow down.
Sheriff Minor received mixed reviews after he presented the idea to the committee last Thursday evening.
"We talked about it and obviously some people were concerned about the safety of the people on the side of the road, but we did state that those people would take no law enforcement action," Minor said.
Minor stressed the program would be used only as a friendly reminder to people who are driving too fast.
He said that if, down the line, the program is adopted, the public will be education about how it will work before volunteers take to the streets.
The idea sparked from an article Minor read in the Denver Post about a community in the Denver area that had begun using citizens to enforce speeding.
He also said using citizens to help enforce laws isn't a new occurrence in Summit County.
"We used to do something similar to this in Silverthorne, when we had people with disabilities take photos of people illegally parking in handicapped spaces, " Minor said.
Minor asked the committee to talk with friends and family members to get a better idea of how the community as a whole feels about the proposal, but said, regardless, it would be months before the idea became a reality.
"Even if they were to come back (in February) with response from family and friends, we wouldn't even fire this up until March, assuming we get positive feedback," Minor said.
Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 229, or at nformosa@summitdaily.com
