UPDATE: Police Radar Use Gradually Returning to Gwinnett

Updated 10:38 a.m., Feb. 17, 2012

Things are becoming more difficult again for speeders throughout Gwinnett County as police agencies regain the use of radar. That ability is gradually being restored in the wake of the recent Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) settlement between Gwinnett County and its 15 cities.

Snellville already has regained the use of radar, according to media reports, and Suwanee expects to be able to use it soon, according to City Manager Marty Allen. Though the presiding judge in the SDS case has lifted the sanctions, it still is a matter of paperwork between the cities and state authorities before radar use is restored.

The Gwinnett Police Department still is unable to use the technology, according to county spokesperson Joe Sorenson. This agency patrols the unincorporated areas of Suwanee and Gwinnett, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the county's 805,000 residents.

In Suwanee, the effect on traffic safety has not been drastic. Police records show that speeding arrests were down slightly, but that overall traffic arrests were largely unchanged. This is because police became more vigilant in other areas, such as following too closely or improper lane change.

However, Suwanee officials acknowledge that revenue has declined. They made an immediate reduction in the city budget in late 2010, before the radar sanction went into effect on Jan. 1, 2011, because of the anticipated decline in revenue from speeding tickets. However, actual revenue loss in 2011 was less than anticipated.

The Gwinnett Sheriff's Department was not affected by the sanctions, and stepped in in Suwanee and other cities during the dispute. In Suwanee, sheriff's deputies would use radar in selected areas on random days, to keep potential speeders off-balance. That data then was relayed to police in the respective cities, who made the actual arrest.

That agency was unaffected by SDS sanctions because the sheriff is an elected official, and so not answerable to county or city administrators.

As Gwinnett Police Chief Charles Walters once noted, "How many crimes are we missing by not making the first stop?"