Ride along with Elgin police to see how they keep us safe
The usual motto for a police department is to serve and protect.
The Elgin Police Department has been running frequent safety checks for vehicles with a fairly simple premise: everyone pulls over and produces a valid license and proof of insurance.
If you can do that, and you're not drunk or otherwise impaired, and you're buckled up, you're on your way in just a couple of minutes.
If you can't, then it will cost you. The city imposes an administrative towing fee of $500 for each vehicle impounded.
The police department has stopped 3,500 vehicles this year at checkpoints, with nearly 15 percent found to have some type of violation. The checkpoints are funded by the two programs: STEP — Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program; and LAP — Local Alcohol Program grants.
The Elgin Police Department uses STEP to hold safety checks on all major federal or state-recognized holidays, such as the $21,000 received for the Labor Day weekend.
Occupant protection, which also includes seat belt use and removing impaired drivers from the road, are the two main goals of the safety checks, said Elgin Police spokeswoman Sue Olafson.
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