Home Local News Hamlet checkpoint results in 60 citations, 10 drug charges

Hamlet checkpoint results in 60 citations, 10 drug charges

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HAMLET — The Hamlet Police Department, along with members of the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program Region 6 Task Force, hosted a DWI checkpoint and a city-wide traffic enforcement patrol on Friday, March 22, 2019.

Participating agencies included: N.C. Highway Patrol, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Rockingham Police Department, Wadesboro Police Department, Laurinburg Police Department, Hoke County Sheriff’s Department, Mount Gilead Police Department, and Cameron Police Department.

The BATmobile was also on scene. The BATmobile unit is a state-of-the-art, purpose-built vehicle, that serves as a DWI processing center. BATMobile coordinator, Shane Todd, operates this unit that is completely furnished with fingerprinting equipment, a magistrate’s office, and multiple work stations with breath-alcohol-testing instruments.

The presence of the BATmobile unit at DWI checking stations saves time and improves efficiency while acting as a high-profile deterrent to impaired driving. Without the BATmobile unit, law enforcement officers must transport DWI suspects to a traditional breath-testing facility, and if determined necessary, to a separate magistrate’s office for processing. Having this well-lit and clearly marked BATmobile unit at checking stations sends a clear message to discourage motorists from driving while impaired.

Traffic totals for the event:

  • Six DWI citations
  • Four child restraint citations
  • Eight no operator license citations
  • 14 driving while license revoked citations
  • 15 vehicle registration violations
  • Two no insurance citations
  • 11 other minor traffic infractions

Criminal charges during the event:

  • 10 drug charges

The Hamlet Police Department has created increased awareness of the dangers and the consequences of drinking and driving through extensive enforcement projects such as this event.

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During this event, law enforcement officers increased the number of patrols with officers setting up checking stations throughout the city of Hamlet.

Motorists caught driving while impaired could face jail time, lose their driving privileges and pay an average of $10,000 in fines, towing fees and other expenses associated with a DWI.

That’s not a small price, and it doesn’t even count the heftier price: the potential cost of a lost life.

Even with traffic enforcement events such as this one, more than 9,000 people have lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes in North Carolina since the program’s introduction in 1994.

 



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