LFP Criminal Justice Report Highlights CanYouIDMe, Safety Cameras and Youth Court

The 2010 Criminal Justice Report for Lake Forest Park was released recently reporting information about the cities efforts in various fields such as the Police Department, Municipal courts, and more.

The report, which was published in May, details the work of criminal justice agencies in Lake Forest Park during 2010 such as the Police Department and the Municipal Court. Currently, over half of the cities general funding supports agencies like these.

The money supports the departments as well as helps fund new projects such as Can You I.D. Me?, a project created by Detective Tony Mathews. This website allows police to post videos or screenshots of people who were caught on video and are relevant to an investigation but have not yet been identified. Visitors to the site can watch look through these faces and help the police find possible suspects.

“It's doing really, really well as far as the number of public hits we're getting,” Police Chief Dennis Peterson said about the project. “We're getting a lot more departments on there and we do get a monthly printout of how many people get on it. The early stages are working really well for us.”

To check out the website go to www.canyouid.me.

Another project that reports success in 2010 is the photo enforcement camera in the school zones. Two cameras were installed in 2009 and a red light camera was installed in 2010. When they were first installed, average speeds were recorded almost five miles per hour higher than the limit. After a year, the numbers are down and drivers are averaging right around 20 miles per hour, the posted speed limit for a school zone.

The Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Youth Court is also something that continues to be successful. It was designed as a small court for teenagers who have received an infraction on their record. The teen will appear before a judge and a peer jury who will discuss what they did and give an appropriate sentence. Often the sentences are something like community service, letter of apology or a safety course depending on their offense. In addition to this, they are usually required to write some type of an essay or research paper about their offense. If they complete these tasks in the assigned two months, the infraction will be cleared from their record. They must maintain a clear record for the following six months to keep their record clear and avoid fines.

For more information or to read the report yourself, go to http://www.cityoflfp.com/news/2011pr/etc-20110601.html and look under City Council Reports.