PINE BLUFF, Ark. — The Pine Bluff Police Department held a multi-agency operation Sunday to address the issue of the street racing that has been occurring in the city. Along with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the Arkansas State Police, they patrolled the Pine Bluff area.
Richard Wegner with the department says this isn't the first operation they've done and it certainly won't be the last.
"There's always going to be people out there that think, 'why are we chasing traffic when there's other crime issues?' But the duty of the police department is to provide safety and security to its citizens," said Wegner.
They targeted vehicles racing, speeding, showing spinning tires, and other violations resulting in over 90 enforcement actions taken: Three felony arrests, four drug arrests, four illegal firearms seized, three warrant arrests, 11 vehicles impounded, two ATVs impounded and 66 traffic citations.
"When you've got people doing over 100 miles per hour down city streets, it's only a matter of time before there's a crash and somebody— most likely somebody innocent— is going to get seriously hurt or killed," said Wegner.
He said they will continue to monitor when the illegal activity occurs and issue citations, make arrests, and impound vehicles whenever allowed by law until this situation stops.
Jefferson County Sheriff Lafayette Woods said they've gotten an influx of calls on the issue affecting the city and the county.
"It's a growing issue. I mean, it's a danger to not only the individual driver who's engaging in it, but also it's a danger to those around them. It's not safe. It's illegal and it's not safe," said Woods.
He said there's a lot of different tracks in Missouri across state lines that provide a safe atmosphere and controlled environment for drag racers.
"So until the legislatives make it legal in Arkansas, we just can't allow it, and at this point because of all the calls we've received, we are taking a hard line on it," said Woods.
He said State Rep. Mike Holcomb, who was a former county judge, can hopefully pass legislation in order to give local officials the power to decide on giving individuals a controlled place to race.
Wegner thanks all other entities for helping make the streets safer.
He wants those engaging in criminal activities to stop.
"Revving their engines. Doing burnouts. They'll have someone block the roads so they can do donuts in the road. What these people are doing is saying, 'My desire to do what I want outweighs citizens' rights to be able to use the streets,'" said Wegner.