2008 Woodie Awards
Police crack down on Newark street racing
Lindsey Spina
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: News
Don't expect the fourth installment of "The Fast and the Furious" movie series to take place in Newark. The Newark Police Department has been cracking down on street racing, a problem that has been occurring in the city.
This past June, the department instituted a two-month enforcement activity dedicated solely to stopping street racing. Funded by the Delaware Office of Highway Safety, 14 police officers patrolled from June to August, performing 180 hours of service to cut down on street racing.
According to Cpl. Kirk Davis of Newark Police, the problem came to light last year, with the death of Chinsu Park Un on Elkton Road due to street racing.
While Park Un's death had a strong impact on the development of the patrol, it was not the only occurrence that precipitated its creation, Davis said. Other incidents, including several high-speed stops throughout Newark, led to the creation of the patrol. Some of the occurrences were street-racing related and others were cases of speeding.
"Based on these circumstances, we figured we needed to have a more aggressive enforcement activity," he said.
Davis said the current major speed-racing areas throughout Newark are Elkton Road, Otts Chapel Road, Delaware Avenue and parts of Cleveland Avenue.
"The common places are where there is a long straight section of roadway," he said.
According to Newark Police, a total of 175 arrests were made as a result of the patrol. Approximately 70 percent of them were due to speeding. Other violations included drag racing and driving under the influence.
Sophomore Jim Kane said he has never been involved in street racing but said he feels it is a problem within Newark.
"It can injure bystanders and cause major damage, like with what happened last year with the fatal accident on Elkton Road," Kane said.
He said if he ever participated in street racing, knowing there was a police patrol, it would curb his interest.
Sophomore Dan Szczecinski said he has never street raced before but has noticed it is an ever-increasing issue in the city.
This past June, the department instituted a two-month enforcement activity dedicated solely to stopping street racing. Funded by the Delaware Office of Highway Safety, 14 police officers patrolled from June to August, performing 180 hours of service to cut down on street racing.
According to Cpl. Kirk Davis of Newark Police, the problem came to light last year, with the death of Chinsu Park Un on Elkton Road due to street racing.
While Park Un's death had a strong impact on the development of the patrol, it was not the only occurrence that precipitated its creation, Davis said. Other incidents, including several high-speed stops throughout Newark, led to the creation of the patrol. Some of the occurrences were street-racing related and others were cases of speeding.
"Based on these circumstances, we figured we needed to have a more aggressive enforcement activity," he said.
Davis said the current major speed-racing areas throughout Newark are Elkton Road, Otts Chapel Road, Delaware Avenue and parts of Cleveland Avenue.
"The common places are where there is a long straight section of roadway," he said.
According to Newark Police, a total of 175 arrests were made as a result of the patrol. Approximately 70 percent of them were due to speeding. Other violations included drag racing and driving under the influence.
Sophomore Jim Kane said he has never been involved in street racing but said he feels it is a problem within Newark.
"It can injure bystanders and cause major damage, like with what happened last year with the fatal accident on Elkton Road," Kane said.
He said if he ever participated in street racing, knowing there was a police patrol, it would curb his interest.
Sophomore Dan Szczecinski said he has never street raced before but has noticed it is an ever-increasing issue in the city.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 7
Russell Palmeri
posted 10/01/07 @ 10:31 AM EST
The easiest way to get people to cut-down or stop doing things that cause problems, or complaints in a community or society is to instead of trying to prevent it, try to take all of it and center it around it's own purpose. (Continued…)
Russell Palmeri
posted 10/03/07 @ 2:11 PM EST
I hope your first response to everything isn't to throw people in jail. The United States has about 25% of the worlds incarcerated population. Our jails are overflowing. (Continued…)
skmm
s
posted 10/05/07 @ 12:07 AM EST
That was cute how you made a half developed misinformed comment and was called out on it. Then, you retort with another half developed misinformed comment to distract us from the fact that you were wrong in the first place and now you're wrong in the second. (Continued…)
Russell Palmeri
posted 10/08/07 @ 9:37 AM EST
Does the transition of ideas really matter? So you feel I stretched from one to another, does that change the facts? Does it change that it exists? Of course not, so instead of focusing on the ideas that really matter, you focus on how I may not have been completely thorough in my response. (Continued…)
Mike Walther
posted 10/09/07 @ 8:32 PM EST
I agree with much of what Russell has said here, but some of it isn't pertinent to this discussion.
The issue I have is with the PD having a unit specifically for dealing with street racing just because one kid died. (Continued…)
Evo Street Racers
posted 7/25/08 @ 2:33 PM EST
There are alternatives to the street...
Street Scene Revolution's Evo Street Racers is the largest national motorsports association that focuses on curtailing illegal street racing by assisting in the evolution of street racers into motorsports racers. (Continued…)
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