By PHIL DAVIDSON,
Copyright 2006 The Post Register
All Rights Reserved
Drivers with a heavy foot take note.
The Idaho State Police has new gadgetry in its speed-detection arsenal that makes catching speeders almost too easy.
All the patrol cars in the region are now equipped with high-tech radars that allow officers to detect speeders coming from behind, moving ahead of them in the same direction, and traveling in the opposite direction.
This is a fairly convoluted matrix to grasp, but suffice to say, if you’re speeding and a trooper is within a mile of you, there’s a good chance you’ll be caught.
Not only that, but some troopers are now carrying state-of-the-art laser speed detection devices that your radar detectors won’t notice.
These new crime-fighting gizmos can lock on two cars at the same time, so no more hiding behind semis, which used to disrupt older radars.
""Now, there’s no question in anyone’s mind as to who’s doing what speed,"" said ISP Trooper Chris Nelson, an apparent gadget guru.
And you don’t even want to know about the new cruisers coming in. These new vehicles are absent of the light racks you normally see on top of police cars. Instead, the lights are inside, and give troopers a stealthier approach.
""The attitude we’ve noticed from drivers is if there’s no light bar on top, it’s not a cop,"" Nelson said.
Consider yourself warned.
I’d be remiss if I also didn’t mention that new video equipment automatically records everything 30 seconds prior to an officer starting the camera. So if you do something that makes a trooper take notice, it will likely be recorded.
Join Idaho Falls’ finest
If you can jump 14 inches, perform 21 consecutive push-ups, have a high school degree or G.E.D and no felony convictions on your record, you might be a candidate to patrol the streets of Idaho Falls.
The city’s police department is now accepting applications for three new officers. The requirements are obviously a lot more extensive than those listed above, but that’s just a sampling of what the department’s looking for.
All applicants will have to take a civil service written exam, physical exam and undergo an interview.
The last day to turn in an application is May 12.
For further information, visit the department’s Web site at www.ci.idaho-falls.id.us
Cops and Courts reporter Phil Davidson can be reached at 542-6750.
April 16, 2006