Unincorporated Pierce County crashes down despite smaller traffic unit

(The Center Square) – Despite a drop in staffing in the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department’s Traffic Unit, safety on unincorporated county streets has improved over 2023.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department had to cut 12 full-time law enforcement positions as part of required budget cuts in the 2024-2025 budget. This saved the county approximately $4.3 million. The majority of the vacant positions eliminated stem from the traffic unit.

The Pierce County Traffic Unit currently has eight full-time commissioned department members.

The sheriff’s department believes that if hiring trends continue to remain positive, the department will be able to fill all of its current vacancies, and could hire enough new deputies to fill the eliminated positions in 2025.

The restoration of the funding for the eliminated positions is the traffic unit’s top priority for the 2024-2025 supplemental budget.

In 2023, there were 8,098 motor vehicle collisions in unincorporated parts of Pierce County. So far in 2024, there have been 4,591. A decrease of 43%.

The number of fatal collisions in unincorporated Pierce County has also dropped this year from 24 in 2023 to 10 so far in 2024. The majority of the fatalities so far this year were attributed to driving while under the influence.

The statistics presented to the public safety committee on Monday do not include fatalities that occurred on state highways.

Through July, there have been 157 DUI reports in unincorporated Pierce County and 7,503 traffic stops.

“Although we have a very understaffed unit at this time, we have very proactive individuals that are out trying to do what they can to safeguard the community members that we work for and serve,” Pierce County Sheriff’s Department Chief of Patrol Patti Jackson said in a public safety committee meeting on Monday.

The traffic unit is requesting $254,340 in equipment deemed necessary to conduct basic operations in enforcement and investigations. This includes a $25,330 drone and $115,220 for a new forklift to move cars that were involved in more serious crashes.

These are long term needs of the Pierce County Traffic Unit that are currently unbudgeted. According to a presentation, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department has higher priorities that have been identified in the supplemental budget request.