Hoosiers will see an increased police presence on Indiana highways this week as state troopers join five other states for a crackdown on illegal drug transportation.
It’s called the Six State Trooper Project – a joint effort of law enforcement in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana. In the past, the project has focused on things such as impaired driving and seatbelt usage. This week’s focus is marijuana trafficking on state highways.
Indiana State Police spokesman Neil Houze says criminal data from each state will be collected and analyzed following the project’s completion.
“They look and compare that to how the numbers are throughout the year without a concentrated, joint effort and see whether these combined enforcement efforts make a bigger impact than just the normal, everyday patrols,” Houze said.
Houze says some of the project’s impact isn’t necessarily reflected in the data.
“In addition to maybe getting a significant number of drugs off the highways, just the simple high visibility is going to make for safer travel for people traveling during that period of time as well,” Houze said.
The increased patrols and presence will take place September 26th through 29th.