Darlington Police Dept. wins cameras and car

Pictured here with the Watch Guard video cameras are (left to right) Brent Kelly, DPD Officer Brandon Tarte, and Sgt. Dominick Robinson.

Pictured here with the Watch Guard video cameras are (left to right) Brent Kelly, DPD Officer Brandon Tarte, and Sgt. Dominick Robinson.

By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpressonline.com

The City of Darlington Police Department took delivery of two new Watch Guard in-car video cameras last week, and even though these systems cost about $5,000 each, the department didn’t have to shell out a cent. DPD won the cameras from the SC Office of Highway Safety for participating in the Law Enforcement Network (LEN), a statewide initiative encouraging agencies to closely track and report their traffic safety activities and crack down on DUI offenders.

For full participation, a LEN agency must attend meetings, submit monthly reports on their public contacts and ticket writing, and make (or assist with) nine DUI arrests during the LEN challenge period from December through September. DPD was one of only three agencies in the Fourth Judicial Circuit to fully participate in this past year’s challenge, and since the Fourth Circuit placed first (based on traffic enforcement data analysis), DPD was therefore eligible for several incentive prize drawings.

The cameras, as it turned out, were only a warm-up.

“We had thirty video cameras we were giving away this year, along with a Ford SUV Police Interceptor… and Darlington Police also won the car,” says Brent Kelly with the SC Department of Public Safety.

Kelly noted that the Ford SUV is not yet ready for delivery, but should be transferred soon. DPD Chief Danny Watson said the cameras will be installed in new police vehicles (some older cruisers are due for replacement this year), and the SUV will be used – naturally – for traffic enforcement.

Author: Duane Childers

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