Sheriff’s Office Volunteers Help Reduce Speeding, Prepare for ‘Back to School’

(KCSO)

A special group of Klamath County Sheriff’s Office volunteers, known as MVPs, have taken on reducing speeding throughout Klamath County by stationing radar trailers in known speeding hot-spots. Radar trailers alert approaching drivers of their speed of travel and flash when it’s over the posted limit for that particular roadway.

Sheriff’s Office MVPs, which stands for ‘Mature Volunteer Program,’ post and operate these radar trailers several days a week throughout the County based upon a combination of citizen complaints, patrol deputy recommendations, and an assessment that requires certain location criteria.

“We volunteer to do this work because the Sheriff’s Office deputies are always really busy, and sometimes responding to emergencies is prioritized over educating the public about speed limits in certain neighborhoods,” says MVP Mike Britton.

When asked how many hours Mike spends volunteering on this particular project, he said with a laugh, “A lot! I’m trying to cut back, really. But this is important for our citizens’ safety, and we MVPs are all part of this because we want to give back to our community – we want to help make this a good and safe place to live.”

In readiness for ‘Back to School’ week, MVPs will be stationing radar trailers in school zones, which is their top priority for placement. “We’ve gathered data that shows radar trailers help reduce speeds in the areas where they are posted at least half the time we deploy them,” says Mike.

The Sheriff’s Office currently has three radar trailers, one of which was recently acquired for free through a supply vendor, saving the department thousands of dollars. Citizens can expect to see them posted in school zones to remind drivers to slow down to 20 mph and be vigilant for pedestrians and children.

There are currently 10 Sheriff’s Office MVPs and they are taking applications for more. MVPs not only manage the radar trailer program, they also assist with maintaining the Sheriff’s Office vehicle fleet, assist office staff with paperwork and deliver documents to the courthouse, and operate a program to check on homes when residents are away on vacation.

Mike says, “Without volunteers the Sheriff’s Office mission would suffer. There’s only so many staff and so much money to pay them. Our Sheriff is very supportive of us.” Interested citizens can find more information about the MVP program, and other volunteer opportunities, on the Sheriff’s Office webpage under “Divisions” and “Volunteers” at https://www.klamathcounty.org/291/Sheriffs-Office

Press release provided from the Klamath County Sheriff's Office.