- May 5, 2024
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The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has added 47 new radar units that will be assigned to deputies in the Community Policing Division (patrol). The radar units were purchased in response to numerous complaints received from Palm Coast residents about speeding in residential areas.
“One of our biggest quality of life issues in our neighborhoods are traffic complaints and now every patrol car will soon have a radar unit to make an impact on these complaints,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “We are doing our part to cut speeding on our roadways but there are more speeders and aggressive drivers than we have deputies so I ask our drivers to change their driving behavior too. This effort is not about writing more tickets, it’s about changing behavior and positively impacting our quality of life, especially in our neighborhoods, and now the deputies have the tools to do that.”
The radar units that will be used by the Community Policing Division are the Raptor RP-1 with DuraTrak technology and the Traffic Unit will be using the Eagle 3, both radar units are manufactured by Kustom Signals Incorporated. The total cost for these radar units was $77,061.00.
The Raptor RP-1 radar features an LCD display making it very easy to read day or night and can print roadside citations. It can easily be mounted and detached from inside patrol vehicles. The Eagle 3 radar unit offers front and rear scanning modes and is the smallest mounted radar unit currently on the market, making it the perfect fit for the FCSO traffic Unit.
In addition to purchasing the radar unit, deputies assigned these radar units must complete a 40-hour radar operator’s class at Daytona State College’s law enforcement academy. This class is required under Florida law to operate a radar unit.
In 2020, FCSO deputies wrote 1,562 citations for speeding and responded to 27 traffic fatalities. So far in 2021, the FCSO has written 682 citations for speeding and responded to 5 traffic fatalities.
As a response to citizen complaints and the increase in traffic fatalities in 2020, Sheriff Staly implemented traffic operations like Operation T.I.D.E.S., C.A.R.E.S., and the national Click it or Ticket campaigns and pushed the Florida Highway Patrol to patrol the County’s state roads more often. Additionally, the FCSO routinely organizes extra traffic operations ahead of busy holiday weekends to deter drunk driving, speeding, reckless driving, distracted driving, and other traffic violations.
Do you have a traffic concern? Tell the FCSO about it by using the FCSO Traffic Concern form on the FCSO website by clicking here. Additionally, you can report dangerous driving conditions by calling 386313-4911.
