BOZEMAN — Bozeman police have recently hired two new traffic enforcement officers.
The first officer began in early October, and the second hit the streets this week. These officers will focus exclusively on traffic stops, including violations such as speeding and reckless driving.
According to Bozeman police, traffic stops have doubled since the officers started. The department also reports more than 1,500 additional traffic stops year-to-date compared to last year.
Bozeman Police Patrol Captain Hal Richardson said the goal isn’t to issue tickets but to educate the community about safe driving.
“Right now we just want them to be out there, be visible, make the stops,” Richardson said. “If you make one traffic stop and 100 cars go by, there’s 100 people who’ve seen that stop being conducted. Hopefully one person got the unfortunate education of being warned about what they’re doing, but you may have 100 other people being educated, thinking, ‘Oh, they’re out and making stops — maybe I need to watch what I’m doing.’”
Richardson said the department hopes to hire more traffic enforcement officers in the future. Ideally, by summer, he added, some will be motorcycle certified.
