Politics & Government
Chief Dorsey Addresses Idea of 'Speed Traps' in Winder
Newly-named Winder Police Chief Dennis Dorsey says Winder does not fit the definition of a speed trap.
The issuance of traffic citations and possible speed traps around Winder was the topic of a back-and-forth dialogue during Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
Councilman Bob Dixon voiced his concern after he said he’s noticed a number of “speed traps” around the city.
“I’m concerned about the tickets that we write when our police officers are somewhat hidden — that they’re not visible — whatever we want to call that, but I call it a speed trap,” he said.
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Police Chief Dennis Dorsey — who was appointed from deputy chief to chief at last night’s meeting following former chief Stanley Rodgers' retirement in January — said Winder did not fit Georgia’s definition of a speed trap.
“To be declared a speed trap, a certain percentage of your department’s budget has to be based on how much money you’re bringing in on that spectrum,” Dorsey said.
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Dixon told Dorsey he hoped the department was issuing a fair amount of warnings, but not going “soft” on speeders.
“These are tough economic times,” Dixon said. “I hope we’re using a lot of common sense. That’s why I’m concerned about the number (of citations) we write and the number of fines that are involved.”
During January and February, the police department issued 900 citations — including non-traffic offense citations. It equates to 1.1 citations per officer, per day.
“I wouldn’t hesitate to say that if you look at other cities our size with the number of officers we have, then we probably write a lot less speeding tickets,” Dorsey said.
He added that he believes the number of warnings issued is comparable to the number of non-warning citations issued. Dorsey did not have a specific report on the warnings but told the council he would do a study and report back at April’s meeting.
Other business
In other business at the Winder City Council meeting:
- Councilman Sonny Morris was unanimously named mayor pro-tem for a two-year term
- Bobby Joe Deaton was named to the city's planning board
- Permits to sell beer, wine and liquor by the drink were approved for Dooley’s Southern Stone Pizza Kitchen, 137 E. May St., and Baja Latin Grill, 187 E. May St., while a permit to sell beer by the package was approved for Winder Citgo, 113 S. Broad St.