SPEED cracks downs on crime, crashes

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nicholas Benroth
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  SPEED, or the Sherriff's Patrol to Enforce Effective Driving, is a new program set forth by the Lowndes county Sheriff's Department to help control areas saturated with crime, speeding and traffic accidents.

"With this program, local law enforcement professionals will help keep our base population safe by going above and beyond to increase contacts with the local population and thus head off problems before they might become tragedies," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Justin Secrest, 23d Security Forces commander. "All this combined with an already daily sharing of information and trends between on and off-base law enforcement agencies will absolutely lead to a safer environment for us to live and work.

The program, which began May 1, will start to combat areas where there is an alarming rate of rural road and motorcycle fatalities. The program will also focus on enforcing traffic safety and deterring crime, which reduces crashes, property and personal crimes.

"This program will be a great benefit to members on base, and it will make the roads around base safer," said Police Sergeant Mike Adams, Lowndes county Sheriff's department officer. "People think we try to ruin their day by giving them tickets or by pulling them over, but we are trying to make a deterrence to keep people safe."

The SPEED team will perform measures like roadblocks, saturation patrols, education and communication with the public and putting a stop to aggressive driving.

"We want to neutralize the threat before it escalates and a good way to do that is through education and informing the public of the dangers on the road," said Adams.

Their goal is to get people to just slow down and get educated on some of the traffic laws people ignore. They are also striving to reduce the number of fatalities each year to zero.

"Last year we lost 17 people," said Adams. "We have slowly been working this number down but it's still too many, I know it may be an impossible task to reach zero, but the harder we try the more lives he can help save."

Partnership between the base and the local community will be integral to help preventing accidents and making the area around Moody safer.

"The SPEED program is another great example of the relationship between Moody and the local community," said Secrest. "Personally, it is an honor to work alongside the awesome professionals we have 'outside-the-wire' here in Lowndes County and the greater Valdosta area."

Reporting is a major way to help prevent crime and accidents. To report any incidents call 229-740-1601 or in case of emergencies dial 911.