Falmouth police say they will be increasing traffic enforcement over the next few weeks. 

Local officers have pulled over far fewer vehicles for “less serious offenses,” such as expired registrations or inspection stickers, since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, in order to cut down face-to-face interactions, according to a prepared release. 

Now, police will be revving up traffic stops to pre-pandemic levels. 

“Speed continues to generate a lot of complaints town wide and is always at the top of the list of citizen concerns,” Lt. Frank Soule said. “The number of traffic-related complaints coming into the department has increased and we will begin more routine operations going forward.”  

While February tends to be a slow month for traffic stops, February 2019 saw 527 traffic stops, compared to just 25 in February 2021, according to Soule.

“Traffic on the roadways has also been less as more people stay and work from home, then add in the winter months,” Soule said. “More minor offenses do make up most of our traffic contacts. Like most agencies, traffic-related complaints are also the ones we field the most.”

Police are now encouraging residents to renew expired registrations or inspections and watch their speed. 

“We will continuously evaluate the current climate and health of our officers and community should we need to make any changes,” Soule said.