Danville, Va – Operation Bold Blue Line was started when Governor Youngkin took office. This is his team’s plan for supporting law enforcement and reducing crime in cities across the Commonwealth.
From March 12th to the 24th, the community will notice a larger police presence in the City of Danville. The Virginia State Police and Danville Police Department have partnered up for traffic enforcement and safety.
The partnership is focused on using data-driven analysis to guide enforcement efforts. The goal is to reduce traffic crashes, injuries and violent crime in the community.
Sergeant Rick Garletts, Public Information Officer for Virginia State Police, says, “A lot of times, we as uniform police officers do a traffic stop and investigate further than the traffic stop, and you find guns and drugs and all that stuff, which all contributes to this violent crime initiative. So, it can start with a traffic stop and work its way into a criminal arrest.”
Sergeant Garletts says the Virginia State Police is an assisting agency. This means they can bring a lot of manpower to these smaller cities that need help.
This isn’t the first time the two agencies have partnered up. Back in December, they ran the same program to increase traffic enforcement and safety. According to State Police, last year they had 386 summons in that two weeks. There were also 288 incidents that led to 480 charges.
“This will eclipse anything that they are doing within a two-week period. I can almost guarantee it. You are having a larger number of uniforms down there working, so probably close to 25 to 30 State Troopers down there working that area,” says Garletts.
Sergeant Garletts said they also had one wanted person arrested.
During Operation Bold Blue Line, the focus for Danville is on the Motorcycle Police Officers, Uniform State Police, Uniform City Police, Detectives, and Special Agents.
This partnership is something that will continue in the Commonwealth, as long as they still see results. There is another plan for the two agencies to partner up again in June.