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Hawaii Police Department <br /> Traffic Enforcement Unit <br /> Sergeant Christopher D. Gali <br /> Phone: 961-2332 <br /> September 7, 2007 <br /> Media Release <br /> Police officers from the Traffic Enforcement Unit will be patrolling Big <br /> Island roads in unmarked cars following a successful pilot program <br /> using one such vehicle. <br /> Once the Police Department equips the officers' subsidized vehicles <br /> with new equipment, all eight members of the Traffic Enforcement Unit <br /> will have a car with LED blue lights above the rearview mirror, in the <br /> vehicle's grille and on the rear deck, rather than the standard blue <br /> dome light on the roof. The vehicles will also be equipped with strobe <br /> lights in the headlights and taillights. <br /> Police officers driving the unmarked cars will be in full uniform. The <br /> Police Department encourages any member of the public who wants to <br /> verify the legitimacy of an officer ty ask for identification or call 911 by <br /> <br /> _.n cell phone. Sergeant Christopher Gali said the Police Department <br /> received no complaints from the public during the trial period. <br /> "Our pilot program was successful in detecting high-risk drivers, such <br /> as impaired drivers, speeders, reckless drivers and drivers who <br /> overtook the unmarked police cars in no-passing zones or on the <br /> right," Gali said. "We also found that when the lighting system was <br /> activated, the unmarked car was more visible than a subsidized vehicle <br /> with only a blue roof-mounted light." <br /> The pilot program using the single unmarked vehicle began in <br /> February 2006. <br /> <br />