Photo courtesy UAPD The University of Arizona Police Department recently purchased LIDAR equipment, a new detector designed to target speeders more effectively. UAPD implemented the use of this new equipment on Thursday.

New gear will help UAPD slow campus speeders

Police already conduct frequent traffic stops on campus and now they plan to crack down on fast drivers even more with a new radar system that will help officers detect and curtail speeding, officials said.

A new speed-monitoring device known as LIDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, was implemented Thursday and will measure a speeding vehicle's velocity like a radar detector, according to a press release.

The device, worth more than $21,000, was purchased through a grant issued by the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety last month.

The new enforcement measure may also lead officers to discover other criminal offenses of traffic violators, Mejia said.

People on campus are generally pulled over for speeding, registration violations or running a red light, but through further investigation, police often discover other criminal offenses such as warrants or suspended licenses, Mejia said.

Such offenses can turn a traffic stop into jail time.

Mejia said UAPD officers are constantly patrolling campus, especially the busy streets bordering campus such as North Euclid Avenue, East Speedway Boulevard and North Campbell Avenue.

"Traffic enforcement is relative to the highly traveled areas of campus," Mejia said. "We enforce traffic laws because we want people to slow down and abide by the laws when entering the UA area."