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Winkler Co. Sheriff's Office Focusing Attention on Traffic
Winkler Co. Sheriff's Office Focusing Attention on Traffic 3/20/13
CBS 7 News Reporter
March 20, 2013
tguinn@cbs7.com
Kermit - The Winkler County Sheriff's Office is busier than ever as traffic problems continue to grow out of control inside and outside city limits.
It's gotten so bad that Sheriff George Keely says they issue around 15 tickets a day. In the past, it was 15 tickets a month.
A population spike has them focusing their attention on drivers and it's not leaving much time for other areas.
The oil boom has brought new people to town and they're all welcome. However no one is above the law.
Truck after truck, they're all coming into Kermit. But a lot of them are being welcomed into town with a ticket.
“There’s traffic everywhere in this little town where we didn’t use to have that. It makes it a public safety issue,” Sheriff Keely said.
The Winkler County Sheriff's Office has been busier than ever patrolling the streets and issuing tickets.
“Used to be, the Winkler County Sheriff’s Office didn’t issue a lot of tickets. We would some, but now we do a lot,” Sheriff Keely said.
There are days they are so busy patrolling that they don't even make it out of city limits.
“That takes us away from the other duties of patrolling oil field theft, patrolling in the neighborhood for criminals.
The increase of traffic has Sheriff Keely's deputies working longer hours and taking on more duties.
“They’re making up for it by being more efficient, by working smarter and by working more.
The Winkler County Sheriff's Office will continue to protect and serve no matter the number of speeders on the road.