Police say the fruits of their labor paid off after they took part in a massive 72- hour crackdown. “The numbers don’t fully illustrate the success of the operation. I’m giving a voice to what our people did. The real credit goes to the people that worked the shifts and put the hours in,” said Lt. Jonathan Mays, Acting Troop H Commander with Pennsylvania State Police.
Last weekend Pennsylvania State Police teamed up with numerous law enforcement agencies in Dauphin County for “Operation Flood”. “It’s named for the saturation of the county by law enforcement teams,” said Lt. Mays.
Harrisburg City Police are one organization that joined the operation. “We have our vice unit which participated in the prostitution stings that were going on, our street crimes unit helped with the LCB and bar sweeps, and my piece to it was the traffic end,” said Cpl. Kenneth Young, with the Harrisburg Traffic Safety Unit.
“Operation Flood” consisted of 72 hours of continuous enforcement operations in Dauphin County. These targeted enforcement details took place from August 21st through August 23rd 2014. Police issued more than 400 citations, including 44 DUI arrests.
One focus was people driving on prescription medications and other drugs. “We have people that are specifically trained to identify what the body is telling them beyond alcohol. Alcohol seems to be a big strength for us because we are used to seeing it, we are used to seeing drunk divers. Whenever it’s prescription medication that can manifest in a number of different ways in the body,” said Lt. Mays.
“It certainly made our township roadways and businesses safer,” said Swatara Township Police Chief Jason Umberger. His officers also helped. “We made different contact with people across different disciplines and can relate our investigations to one another and of course that all helps us solve crimes.”
Money from the operation came from grant funding, PennDOT funding, and local police departments paid for the involvement of their officers.
The Numbers: [August 21-23, 2014]
Arrests:
Prostitution Arrests 12
Drug Arrests 4
Other Arrests 2 (Open Lewdness)
Citations:
DUI Arrests 44
Speeding Citations 230
Safety Belt Citations 8Following Too Closely 3
Turning Movements Required
Turn Signals 7
Other Citations 130
Driving Under Suspension 10
Driving Under Suspension
DUI Related 1
Total Citations 433
Warnings:
Speeding Warnings 38
Safety Belt Warnings 14
Following Too Close
Warnings 11
Turning Movements Required
Turn Signals 5
Other Warnings 201
Total Warnings 269
Agencies that helped with “Operation Flood”:
Harrisburg City P.D.
Dauphin County DA’s office
Dauphin County CID
Dauphin County DUI Task Force
Dauphin County Judicial Center
Dauphin County Prison
Dauphin County Probation and Parole
Dauphin County Sheriff’s Department
Derry Township P.D., PENNDOT
Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Board
Susquehanna Township P.D., Swatara Township P.D.
Prime Care Medical Inc.