Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, Inc.

The MCPA strongly believes that traffic safety is a key component to our overall public safety efforts and it is a fundamental element for improving the quality of life for Maryland residents. To that end, the MCPA supports numerous local, regional, and national highway safety initiatives. We hope you find the pages contained herein helpful in showcasing the opportunities and resources available for you and your agency to become involved.

Throughout the year, numerous grant funding opportunities are made available to participating law enforcement agencies to support traffic safety initiatives. These funding opportunities allow for agencies to fund overtime enforcement and equipment acquisitions, as they pertain to designated mobilizations (ie, Click It Or Ticket, Over The Limit Under Arrest, etc.). Please check with your local county-level Regional Traffic Safety Program (RTSP) Coordinator for available opportunities. For a listing of RTSPs, please click here, OR contact MHSO’s Law Enforcement Program Coordinator, Mr. Barry Marsh at bmarsh@sha.state.md.us

Checkpoint Strikeforce Campaign

Agencies across the state are gearing up for the upcoming annual Checkpoint Strikeforce Impaired Driving Enforcement campaign. Checkpoint Strikeforce is a multi-state, zero-tolerance campaign that uses sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols to get impaired drivers—those under the influence of drugs or alcohol—off our state’s roads. Running during the month of September and throughout the rest of the year, this effort is part of the State’s Toward Zero Death’s initiative, an effort that seeks to create a culture for which traffic fatalities and serious injuries are no longer acceptable.

The focus for this year’s campaign will be on high-crash corridors, with supporting saturation patrols. The Maryland Highway Safety Office, a division of the Maryland State Highway Administration, has produced maps for each county that highlight those corridors with the highest propensity for alcohol-related crashes and fatalities. These maps, which are intended for you and your staff’s use, can be found here. This high-visibility enforcement campaign will also be supported with a hefty media budget, and is a redeemable component for Maryland’s Law Enforcement Challenge. For more information, contact MHSO’s Law Enforcement Program Coordinator, Mr. Barry Marsh at bmarsh@sha.state.md.us

• Checkpoint Strikeforce website
  
  
• Enforcement Wave Dates

             To Be Announced

This year, the Maryland Highway Safety Office hopes to direct its limited media investments and overtime enforcement funding to specific high-crash corridors in particular counties.   Additionally, while sobriety checkpoints are the hallmark to the Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign, saturation patrols have become an increasingly effective tool in complementing and advancing the program, particularly for agencies with competing priorities and personnel limitations.  Therefore, MHSO’s enforcement recommendations for 2011 encourage the use of saturation patrols in and around the corridors identified in the county-level maps below:

• County-level Impaired Driving-Related Crash Maps