Fort Scott police report little New Year's activity

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- According to law enforcement officials in the local area, the 2009 New Year's holiday did not appear to increase the amount of traffic violations or overall crime.

The Fort Scott Police Department, Bourbon County Sheriff's Department and Kansas Highway Patrol all increased the number of officers each organization had on duty during New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Fort Scott Police Lt. Travis Shelton said although the police department's officers were busy during the holiday, the amount of calls they responded to was not greater than those of a typical day.

Several years ago, traffic violations surrounding the New Year's holiday were quite frequent. However, according to KHP Captain Rick Wilson, the amount of driving infractions that occured during the holiday had decreased from previous years.

"It was pretty much a normal day for us," Wilson said. "A lot of people plan ahead and get designated drivers or stay somewhere overnight. It (drunk driving) is not as much of a problem as it used to be."

According to Shelton, law enforcement typically sees an increase in domestic violence related incidents during the holiday season as well. However, this year Bourbon County did not see an increase in domestic crimes, eithter.

Shelton said he partially attributes the lower rate in traffic infractions and overall crime to the extra efforts of the local law enforcement officers.

"We stayed busy," he said. "We had a lot of proactive traffic stops and tried to be seen. When the community sees the stepped-up efforts, it is a deterrent to committing crimes."