Wenatchee Police Look To Free Up Officers For More Safety Patrols

Wenatchee Police are looking to stage more traffic safety patrols to improve driver behavior. 

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Almost 40 tickets were issued during a traffic safety emphasis at Ninth Steet and North Chelan Avenue last month.  

Wenatchee Police Chief Edgar Reinfeld says they have limited capacity to conduct the patrols because of staffing levels. 

"Day to day we don't have that many officers in service," said Reinfeld. "A full patrol shift is seven. Our minimum staffing is four. We frequently have five officers on duty in the 16 square miles of the city of Wenatchee. So, finding them doing dedicated traffic enforcement is relatively rare." 

The ability for Wenatchee Police to stage safety emphasis patrols has increased this year with the addition of a traffic safety unit.   

The city council approved an agreement with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission back in December that's funding two full-time and one part-time position to focus on traffic safety.  

The traffic safety unit has been in operation since January 1st. The grant from the Traffic Safety Commission will supply the officers’ salaries for two years, after which the city be responsible for funding.  

The commission is reimbursing the city for the two patrol officers and one part-time sergeant. The grant will total $881,392 for the two-year duration. 

Chief Reinfeld says the traffic safety unit will be used for safety emphasis patrols but has other daily functions. 

"With the formation of the traffic unit back on January 1, we now have dedicated traffic enforcement every day," Reinfeld said. "But they also handle collisions, they do public education. They have a lot of roles.” 

The primary work of the traffic unit is traffic enforcement and collision investigation with an emphasis on coordination with the Washington State Patrol, Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, City of Wenatchee Engineering Department, public education, and Drug Recognition Experts. 

During the July emphasis patrol there were seven tickets issued for unlawful turn on a red light, six for cellphone use while driving, and four for not having insurance. In addition, 20 people were cited for not wearing seatbelts.  

Wenatchee Police conducted a previous traffic safety emphasis on May 30, where they wrote 14 citations for speeding within a two-hour period.   

That operation took place as vehicles approached the Wenatchee River Bridge southbound on State Route 285.  

Officers targeted vehicles speeding where the posted speed limit is 45 mph. The fastest vehicle whose driver received a citation was traveling 61 mph or 16 mph over the posted limit.  

Outside of the Hwy. 285 approach into north Wenatchee, the speed limit on most streets in the city is 25 mph. There are a few exceptions. The speed limit on the one-way streets - Mission Street and Chelan Avenue is 30 mph. On Western Avenue, the speed limit is 35 mph.