Radar monitor could help Kelowna RCMP target their traffic enforcement

Kelowna RCMP officers may be looking to data to help them decide when and where to conduct traffic enforcement.

It’s part of the city’s crime reduction strategy which aims to “maximize the effectiveness of resources using an intelligence-led model.”

In a report to Kelowna City Council this week, the local RCMP superintendent said that traffic services now has a Black Cat brand radar monitor that can collect traffic data and “generates detailed reports to identify hot spots and peak periods for traffic enforcement.”

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The Coquitlam RCMP which also started using a Black Cat brand radar device said in a media release it can detect “a vehicle’s size, speed, lane position, and direction and gathers data round the clock on every vehicle that passes for up to a week.”

In that community police started using the radar device last year and were so happy with the tool they quickly ordered a second one.

In Coquitlam, police said they used the radar in areas where there had been public complaints.

An example of a sample report generated by the radar, supplied by the Coquitlam RCMP, shows the device giving police information about the percentage of vehicles at a particular location exceeding the speed limit.

“The Black Cat isn’t used tor giving out tickets, but when we evaluate the data it collects, we can make well-informed decisions about where our enforcement teams can be most effective,” said Coquitlam RCMP Staff Sgt. Mark McCutcheon in a 2018 media release.

However, the report from the Kelowna RCMP superintendent is not clear as to whether police in the Okanagan plan to use exactly the same device as officers in the Lower Mainland.