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Virden to get radar speed sign

RCMP gets criminals to pay for it
Radar speed sign
Virden Staff Sargent Joe Frizzley

Virden’s RCMP detachment is giving the town a present. It’s a mobile radar speed sign that can be positioned at any trouble spot in town. And the best part is the proceeds of crime are paying for it.

Staff Sargent Joe Frizzley says the RCMP has a fund generated by criminal property seized by police from “bad guys” – things like vehicles, cash, or other ill-gotten gains. “There’s a lot of money in there.”

Individual detachments across Manitoba can submit applications for community projects or purchases they’d like to make with the help of the fund.

Virden Constable Josh Maynard spearheaded the idea and did the paperwork leading up to the successful application to the fund.

The electronic sign, valued at over $20,000, will be similar to the kind often seen on highways near construction zones. It will display the speed at which drivers approach it and remind them to slow down.

It sits on a mobile trailer so it can be wheeled to wherever in Virden it’s needed. The sign will not record license plates or lead to speeding tickets – it’s an information only sign for drivers.

The onboard computer will also give RCMP the added bonus of collecting Virden traffic data they’ve never had access to before.

“The data will help us analyze speeding patterns by recording the speed, date and time of each vehicle that passes by. So we can put enforcement in a certain area.”

The first place he’d like to see the sign placed is in school zones and then on streets that generate speeding complaints. He also envisions it being used at special events or to warn of crosswalks ahead.

Frizzley says the mobile sign should arrive in Virden in about a month.

 

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