While many Rye residents believe the town has a major parking problem, the City certainly does not have a parking violation revenue problem. According to the 2017 Rye Police Annual Report, there were 10,825 parking violations last year. That’s an increase of about 8 percent over 2016 to help supplement local taxes. The detail reveals that nearly 60 percent of those tickets came in the first half of 2017, before the Parking Enforcement (PEOs) and other patrol officers put the brakes on, so to speak.
In comparison, all traffic violations combined totaled 6,494, led by failure to obey signs and signals at 1,292, and equipment violation, such as faulty taillights at 1,113. And, maybe residents have cut down on the caffeine or the yoga classes are paying off; 645 speeders were caught in 2017 versus 845 in 2016.
One traffic-related statistic stands out: cell phone violations. A total of 253 unlucky motorists were given citations for something that anecdotal evidence suggests occurs far more frequently in town. Alcohol and drug-related incidents were flat at 43.
The biggest or busiest category facing the 36-member force came under the general heading of Calls for Service. These are made up of medical emergencies (1,116), assist citizens (783), burglar and other alarms (835), City Code violations, animal complaints and many others for a whopping total of 30,656. That’s not a typo, 84 service calls per day.
Meanwhile, 222 people were arrested, a nearly 20 percent dip, and over 500 investigations were opened during the year, 43 in the youth category.
The data came to the paper courtesy of Rye Police Department. The City of Rye has not yet released its 2017 Annual Report containing such data to the City Council. Currently, the City requires residents to file a FOIL request in order to access the Annual Report which the City Manager is required by the City Charter to compile.
- <Tom McDermott>
