DOZENS CITED DURING PROJECT SAFE SCHOOLS PATROLS
Friday, September 17, 2010— Patrol officers have issued more than 28 citations to drivers around Maine Township area schools as part of an initiative to ensure the safety of elementary and high school students, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced Friday.
Project Safe Schools kicked off this year in response to complaints from parents, school leaders and neighborhood residents about disruptions and unruly behavior in the area after school.
To ensure students heading home and neighborhoods remain safe, patrol officers have been positioned at major intersections around Maine East when school lets out. The strong police presence includes occasional roll calls around the school, with officers ending their shifts and others beginning, so they are all in one location at the same time. In addition to the high school, officers have stepped up patrols around Stevenson, Apollo, and Washington Elementary schools in unincorporated East Maine Township.
As a direct result of the public safety enforcement, 28 citations have been issued to drivers for speeding, cell phone use, going the wrong way, and failing to stop at stop signs.
The Project Safe Schools initiative will continue throughout the school year.