Success of '��Operation Safe Streets'�� questionable

By Matthew Penix
St. Tammany Parish
Published on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 3:01 PM CDT

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St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office issued 919 tickets Friday in a one-day sweep of speeders in residential neighborhoods, an effort to change driver behavior while combating the top traffic complaint parishwide, authorities said.

On Monday, however, Sheriff’s Office spokesman George Bonnett questioned if “Operation Safe Streets” was effective.

“Is that a success or failure? I don’t know,” Bonnett said of the 919 tickets. “A success is if we didn’t write any tickets. The goal was to warn the public through the media that we won’t tolerate this.”

Bonnett said, the Sheriff’s Office wasn’t sure the public “got the message.”

Today, Sheriff Jack Strain and representatives from the 50 neighborhoods targeted are expected to hold a joint press conference to outline the crackdown’s effectiveness.

Bill Maier, manager for the homeowner’s association at the Beau Chene Subdivision in Mandeville, said many homeowners called his office “anonymously and upset they got a ticket, so obviously it had some effect.”

“Certainly it was noticed by the public,” he said. “Sometimes people are unaware at how bad driving habits have gotten. People get complacent and negligent … we’re glad they made this push.”

A ticket breakdown for specific neighborhoods wasn’t available Monday.

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