LITTLE ROCK — A $6,000 donation presented to the Little Rock Police Department on Tuesday will help the agency purchase a speed trailer, a portable roadside device that tells motorists how fast they're driving.
Chief Stuart Thomas accepted the donation from members of the Little Rock Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association during a brief ceremony at police headquarters.
The trailer serves two functions: It gives motorists their speed reading, warning them to slow down if they're exceeding the limit, and it collects data about the number of vehicles that pass it and their average speed. It doesn't record license plates and it won't send an automated ticket in the mail, like devices in some other states do.
Thomas said drivers who don't heed the trailer's warning to slow down, however, could still be cited.
"Just because it's in one place and you drive past it and it tells you to slow down doesn't necessarily mean there's not a police officer there too," Thomas said.
The trailer will be moved around to different locations in the city, officials said, including in construction zones, school zones and residential areas. Officers will use the collected data to determine where to send targeted patrols.
"I think over time this device will pay a lot of benefits," Thomas said. "It will make things a little bit quieter for our neighborhoods and it will make people aware that we're out there and we're watching."