Chiefs’ Challenge Starts Today

From April 3 through June 3, 2007, within St. Mary’s County officers from the DOD Police – Pax River NAVAIR, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police-Leonardtown Barrack, and the Department of Natural Resources Police-Point Lookout State Park, along with elected officials, join more than one hundred law enforcement agencies across Maryland to participate in an intensive, highly publicized, and competitive annual effort to educate the public about the lifesaving and injury-reducing benefits of safety belt use.  Maryland has a rich history of being a leader in safety belt and child safety seat compliance.  This is a direct result of the commitment and dedication that Maryland’s law enforcement community has made to establishing successful community-based educational programs for and partnerships with the citizens they serve.  It also is a well-known fact that in Maryland communities in which friendly educational methods alone do not result in voluntary compliance, officers, deputies, and troopers do not hesitate to use the final “educational” tool – a safety belt citation in an effort to save lives.

Annually, Maryland Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs, Campus Safety Directors, Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, and Maryland State Police Barrack Commanders challenge their officers, deputies, and troopers to design community-outreach programs and events, to recruit community partners, and to conduct enhanced educational and enforcement initiatives in an effort to increase safety belt and child safety seat use.  As a result of their efforts last year, during the statewide observational surveys that were taken in the spring of 2006, Maryland’s statewide seat belt use rate was 91 percent.  But even with the majority of Maryland’s public buckling up, this means that more than 450,000 Marylanders continue to put themselves in danger by riding unbuckled. 

Command staff from each agencies agree – the highest priority for law enforcement officials is to protect and preserve the lives of the citizens we serve.  Accordingly, this annual campaign provides a statewide timeframe in which all Maryland law enforcement agencies can work together to reduce the loss of lives and the severity of injuries resulting from unbuckled occupants in motor vehicle crashes.  As a team the message is clear to Marylanders of all ages:  if they are not buckled up, at least one member of our law enforcement team will stop them and issue a ticket—because every officer cares about the citizens they serve.

In St. Mary’s County local law enforcement officials will be conducting community outreach.  Agencies strongly encourage child day care and senior centers, schools, businesses, and religious organizations to becom active participants and to request educational and outreach programs, and to post buckle up messages wherever possible. The Buckle Up Religiously campaign component will be available for any parochial schools, churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques.  Local community partners will be assisting law enforcement officials in conducting observational safety belt use surveys.  The health department and other partners in the EMS and health care community also will assist by promoting the lifesaving benefits of buckling up on every ride in every vehicle, and ensuring that all children are properly restrained in an appropriate child safety seat, booster seat or seat belt in accordance with their age and weight.  

Finally, there will be enhanced enforcement efforts f