WINDHAM — Police in Windham are ready to crack down on speeders with the hope of reducing the number of crashes that often result.

The department pursued and received a grant to fund its crackdown from the state Bureau of Highway Safety because speeding is “of significant concern to our citizens,” said Chief Kevin Schofield.

“The goal of the grant is to be able to bring an additional officer whose sole focus is on traffic enforcement. In other words, they are not assigned a patrol sector and radio calls for service,” Schofield said.

In 2018, the Windham Police Department recorded 459 crashes, the highest number in the last 10 years. Though there was a slight improvement last year, the department still recorded 436. The grant, which awarded the department $7,400 in extra funding, will give officers the opportunity to work overtime,  he said. Rather than the usual three officers on traffic duty, the department will be able to assign an extra officer.

Although the department recorded only one traffic-related fatality last year, as opposed to the typical three or four per year, there were several in the immediate area, Schofield said. And with drivers barreling down heavy commuter lanes like Route 302 or Gray Road, police are upping their presence in an effort to lessen speeding’s impact.

Officer Jim Cook, who wrote the grant, said the extra officers will be assigned to high crash areas.

“These areas included most of Roosevelt Trail in the North Windham business district, Tandberg Trail from Manchester Drive to the area of Falmouth Road, the area of the rotary at Foster’s Corner, River Road from Roosevelt Trail to the area of Page Road and River Road from the area of Laskey Road to the area of Chute Road,” Cook said.

Of the six intersections with the highest number of crashes, the intersection of Roosevelt Trail at Gray Road has proved the most dangerous, he said.

In addition to the speed enforcement grant, the department also received a grant for distracted driving, which will help them enforce the state’s new hands-free law. Both grants run through September.