BG cops to go undercover to find red light violators

Buffalo Grove police will be stepping up their efforts to catch red-light violators next week, including covert enforcement at a selected high-crash intersection in the village.

In conjunction with National Stop on Red Week, police will focus on ticketing violators for running red lights starting Sunday at many of Buffalo Grove's most dangerous corners.

At the intersection of Arlington Heights Road and McHenry Road/Route 83, officers will work undercover to find violators during Wednesday and Thursday afternoon's rush hour.

One officer will be dressed as a solicitor who is walking the streets, but he will really be watching for red light violations. He'll inform a squad car down the block via radio which cars run the light, and violators will be pulled over and ticketed, according to Sgt. Scott Kristiansen of the Buffalo Grove Police Department's traffic division.

Eight to 10 officers will be stationed at or near the intersection.

Kristiansen said at the selected intersection, it is "very difficult" to do traditional enforcement safely. There isn't a good place for an officer in a squad car to sit, watch and then be able to pull out and pull over a violator without putting himself and other drivers at risk, he said.

Buffalo Grove police have used the undercover technique before in hope of decreasing the number and severity of crashes at village intersections, Kristiansen said. The village is at a 20-year low for crashes and a 15-year low for injuries related to crashes.

Buffalo Grove is considering installing red-light cameras at high-crash intersections, a move the police department has supported. Village officials are now talking with Gatso USA, a red-light camera vendor, but it's unknown whether village trustees will vote to install cameras.