Tennessee Highway Patrol to receive Top Honor for Impaired Driving Enforcement, Second in Overall Traffic Safety at National Conference

Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Highway Patrol has been recognized among the country’s top state police and highway patrol agencies by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

The THP earned second place in the national organization’s 2012 law enforcement challenge and won the special category award for impaired driving. Colonel Tracy Trott will accept the awards on behalf of the state’s highway patrol at the IACP annual conference in Philadelphia, PA, next week.

The THP took top honors in the impaired driving category based on its year-round efforts to detect and apprehend drunk drivers and to address this traffic safety issue through policies, officer training and public information and education.

“DUI enforcement continues to be one of the most important duties of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. In 2012, state troopers increased the number of impaired driving arrests by over 25 percent from 2011. We are proud of the steps we have implemented to make our state safer, and more will be implemented as we move forward,” Trott said.

The THP has earned second in the overall National Law Enforcement Challenge for three consecutive years.

The National Law Enforcement Challenge is a competition between law enforcement agencies of similar sizes and types. The THP competed in the State Police/Highway Patrol category for agencies with 501-1,000 officers. As part of the challenge, the state’s Highway Patrol submitted an application documenting its efforts and effectiveness in traffic safety enforcement.

“This is a tremendous honor for the Tennessee Highway Patrol and every Tennessee State Trooper. This honor would not be possible without their commitment to traffic enforcement and public safety. They are truly Tennessee’s finest,” Commissioner Bill Gibbons said.  Commissioner Gibbons heads the state’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

The IACP is the world’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization of police executive with more than 20,000 members in some 200 countries.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s (www.TN.Gov/safety) mission is to ensure that our state is a safe, secure place in which to live, work and travel; enforce the law with integrity; and provide customer-focused services professionally and efficiently.