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Off-roading: Peoria Police Department receives $30K grant for OHV

Posted 1/20/20

The Peoria Police Department will be getting a new a side-by-side off-highway vehicle to patrol and use in the city’s desert areas.

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Off-roading: Peoria Police Department receives $30K grant for OHV

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The Peoria Police Department will be getting a new a side-by-side off-highway vehicle to patrol and use in the city’s desert areas.

Council approved an authorization to accept a $30,000 grant from the Arizona State Parks Board for the purchase of the vehicle, which will support education and enforcement of laws and city ordinances.

Commander Charles Bezio said city, county, and state regulations as well as state law regulate the desert areas in Peoria and beyond.

“Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the laws and ordinances,” he said. “The Peoria Police Department has strove to educate the public on the lawful use of this land, but unfortunately we were somewhat limited by our equipment which is designed for municipal law enforcement. Since the desert area in our jurisdiction is primarily State Trust land, we felt that applying for this grant to purchase the vehicle so that our officers could more effectively address the problem would be mutually beneficial.” 

Since an officer is not permanently assigned to this type of special enforcement, a minimum of six special operations will be conducted in the next year using the vehicle. Mr. Bezio said officers will deploy the vehicle during high call for service times in desert areas. Other officers will also be assigned to the operations to support the OHV officers in four-wheel drive equipped patrol vehicles. 

Mr. Bezio said these operations will take place during times when officers have observed the most significant problems — weekends, school breaks and extended holiday weekends.

Public education on responsible operation of the vehicle will also be conducted during these operations.

Mr. Bezio said that during operations officers obtain riders’ information and talk to them about the various laws and ordinances applicable to desert areas. 

“We collaborated with Arizona Game and Fish who provided brochures to hand the operators explaining OHV laws and identifying places where operators can lawfully ride,” he said.

Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697, phaldiman@newszap.com, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.