The Florida State University Police Department placed first in traffic safety in the Champions Category of the 2020 Florida Law Enforcement Challenge Awards, a Florida Law Enforcement Liaison Program (LEL) rewarding agencies that are leaders in traffic safety.
Chief Terri Brown accepted the award from Andrew Johnson, a Law Enforcement Liaison Program Area Representative, at FSU Police Department headquarters Sept. 29.
“The Florida State University Police Department is committed to providing everyone traveling on or near Florida State University roadways a safe commute to and from our campus,” Brown said. “FSUPD consistently strives to make our roads safe by increasing awareness, education and enforcement on a daily basis. I am proud of this accomplishment as well as the hard work and dedication put forth by the brave men and women who make receiving such a prestigious award possible.”
Lt. John Baker and Officers Chase Yarborough, Dan Cutchins, Steve Black and Adam Walker joined Brown for the presentation. Baker supervised all specialized traffic enforcement during 2019. Black is responsible for submitting statistics to the Florida Law Enforcement Liaison Program and acts as the liaison between FSUPD and LEL. Walker and Yarborough were two of last year’s top three traffic producers. Officer Patrick Westman, not in attendance, was FSUPD’s top traffic producer for 2019.
Last year, FSUPD took first place in the University Law Enforcement Category, and subsequently, was moved into the Champions Category comprised of all first-place agencies from each category in 2019. Categories consist of agencies ranging from 1-15 officers to agencies consisting of 400+ officers to include the Florida Highway Patrol.
The award recognizes FSUPD’s efforts in several areas including safety belt usage, distracted driving enforcement, impaired driving enforcement, motorcycle violations, occupant protection enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle enforcement, and speed and aggressive driving enforcement, as well as the department’s training of officers in these areas. Effectiveness is also considered and measured by traffic crash data from the previous year and the reporting year as it relates to each of these categories.
The Florida Law Enforcement Challenge Awards support the goal of encouraging increased statewide enforcement of traffic safety laws to reduce traffic crashes, serious injuries and fatalities. The Florida Law Enforcement Liaison Program is a grant funded program sponsored by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The goal of the LEL Program is to partner with law enforcement agencies to promote and increase participation in the NHTSA national enforcement waves and the annual Florida Law Enforcement Liaison Traffic Safety Challenge to increase awareness and participation in traffic safety-related efforts.