It has been a long time, but we are back up to a full staff on the Police Department. Currently our officers are Lt. Derick Seckinger, Sgt. Jason Bragg, Cpl. Steven Singleton, Officer Timothy Lewis and Officer Ryan Williams.

We now have an onboard computer in the vehicle that gives us the capability of verifying insurance information by running tag information, checking the status of a driver's license, etc. Until recently we only had one officer certified to run the computer, we now have three. In the last 30 days, we have removed 12 uninsured vehicles from our roadways. Now that we have three certified officers on the computer, I look for that number to go up.

For the first time, the Newington Police Department has joined forces with the Southeastern Traffic Enforcement Network (SETEN).  SETEN is the Southeastern Region of the enforcement network that includes Effingham, Chatham, Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Screven, and Evans Counties. Currently we are participating in the Thanksgiving Click it or Ticket Campaign, Operation Zero Tolerance and the Rural Roads Safety Campaign. 

This Holiday Season the HEAT is on Georgia roads and highways to combat traffic and impaired driving. The Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety and local law enforcement agencies have come together to create H.E.A.T.--Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic.

During this Holiday Season as you gather with friends and family for fellowship and reunion, the opportunity may arise to have a drink of two in the process. Be sure you have a designated driver if you choose to have that drink. We have a Zero Tolerance for D.U.I. and it will not be tolerated.
Be responsible, drinking is not the problem, driving while you drink is. Drinking and Driving is NOT AN OPTION!

The Move-Over Law was passed in the aftermath of growing numbers of police, emergency technicians and DOT workers being killed during routine traffic stops, crash responses and highway construction projects around the nation. Right now, more than thirty states have Move-Over Laws on the books, with fines that range as high as a thousand dollars or more in some jurisdictions. The Move-Over fine in Georgia is an “attention-getting” five-hundred-dollars.

However, failure to obey the Move-Over Law can lead to consequences far more serious than fines. According to FBI statistics, traffic crashes claim the lives of more police personnel than any other cause of death in the line of duty, including shootings. The FBI says last year, forty-nine officers died in crashes across the country. Thirteen of those law enforcement officers were struck and killed by passing vehicles while they worked outside their patrol cars.

“Georgia’s Move-Over Law was meant to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities to police officers, paramedics, firefighters, tow truck operators and highway maintenance workers,” said Director Bob Dallas of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. Reports show emergency vehicles of all types have been struck while parked beside Georgia highways, even while their emergency lights were flashing.

The Georgia Move-Over Law requires drivers to move-over one lane when possible if an emergency vehicle with flashing lights is parked on the shoulder of the highway. And if traffic is too heavy to move-over safely, the law requires drivers to slow down below the posted speed limit instead AND to be prepared to stop.