Suwanee Police Officially Using Radar Again

It's official -- Suwanee Police are using radar and laser again.

Officers resumed the use of the technology to track speeders as of Monday morning, according to Capt. Clyde Byers. State authorities lifted the sanctions Friday, but Suwanee Police leaders wanted to take the time to meet with  officers and "re-educate everyone on the proper procedures and use of the equipment since it had been a while since using them," Byers said.

Also, the police leaders wanted to direct officers to the high accident areas and trouble spots, Byers said.

It's the first time since Dec. 31, 2010, that Suwanee Police have been allowed to use radar and laser to track speeders in the city limits. The sanctions had resulted from the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) dispute between Gwinnett County and cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association.

in February.

Suwanee Police arrest statistics largely were unchanged overall during the absence of radar, as officers were more vigilant about other potential violations, such as following to closely or unsafe lane changes. City revenue was negatively affected, although Suwanee pre-emptively reduced its budget in late 2010 in anticipation of the loss of revenue from speeding tickets.

The Gwinnett Sheriff's Department was not affected by the SDS dispute, and so maintained its radar use. Those officers occasionally patrolled Suwanee streets, and were allowed to pass on radar data to Suwanee Police, who would make actual arrests.