Raytown PD & Sheriff’s Patrol Team Up

Raytown Police and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Patrol Team Up in Special Enforcement Effort

The Raytown Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Patrol concentrated joint forces in the southwest corner of Raytown last Saturday night (June 18th, 2011) to target hazardous drivers and fugitives from justice. Sheriff’s Deputies and Raytown Police Officers met at Raytown Police Headquarters Saturday evening and executed a pre-planned effort concentrated in the neighborhoods west of Raytown Road to James A. Reed Road, between 83rd and 87th Streets. The team descended upon the neighborhoods with motorcycles, patrol cars, unmarked cars and a van. They spent the evening patrolling the neighborhoods in search of all manner of traffic violators, especially those whose driving habits could be considered hazardous. The effort was made possible by grant funding to combat hazardous moving violations.

The evening’s effort resulted in fifty eight cars being stopped. Over a hundred citations were issued, including twenty nine for violations considered hazardous. Eleven drivers with suspended or revoked driver’s licenses were caught behind the wheel; and twenty six uninsured motorists were cited. A total of seventeen people had to be booked into jail, including one illegal alien who was turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities for deportation procedures.

Technology played a role in the success of the evening. Radio communications between the both police departments and the Raytown 911 Center were accomplished through new interoperable radio technology. But perhaps more interesting, was the Sheriff’s Patrol cruising the streets with a specially equipped car that “read” vehicle license plates and checked them against police databases. It instrumental in serving seventeen outstanding arrest warrants. The equipment conducted one thousand, two hundred license plate scans, yielding thirty “hits” for possible wanted persons.

In addition to supplementing the number of traffic officers, Deputies also manned a prisoner transport van to handle arrests and keep officers working the enforcement operations. A total of thirteen officers from both agencies took part. The team was independent of the regular compliment of patrol officers working that evening. Sergeant Mike McDonough, the Raytown Traffic Unit Supervisor, called the evening “an overall success” and praised the Deputies that teamed with his crew.