On Friday, August 29, 2014, the SFPD hosted its 4th Annual Law Enforcement Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel. This year’s event focused on traffic safety. Members of the law enforcement community from throughout the State were invited to attend.
Guest speakers consisted of Ronda Craft–Director of California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), Jikaiah Stevens–pedestrian advocate, and Greg Raisman–traffic safety specialist.
Director Craft manages an office that distributes annually over $90 million in traffic safety grants. She has over 30 years of experience as an administrator. She works with many other organizations that are committed to improving traffic safety.
Ms. Jikaiah Stevens survived a traffic collision in San Francisco that inspired her to become a pedestrian advocate. Her injuries never completely healed. As a photographer, she documented and analyzed the effects of traffic collisions involving pedestrians. Ms. Stevens was startled by the statistics and as a result she joined Walk SF to tell her first-hand account as a survivor. Her efforts helped change the way the SFPD handle vehicle-pedestrian collisions.
Mr. Greg Raisman–a transportation specialist from the Portland Bureau of Transportation, has been instrumental in shaping policies that led to safer streets. More specifically, he approaches transportation corridors as public spaces that should be repurposed through enforcement, engineering, and education. Mr. Raisman’s efforts have garnered the attention of other cities in their attempt to improve traffic safety.
Attendees to the Summit had the opportunity to discuss traffic safety issues as well as hear from specialists and advocates. They shared stories and ideas about policies and enforcement methods. Additionally the attendees had the chance to ask questions to key figures in the field of traffic safety. Many of them walked away with a different perspective and appeared appreciative of what they learned. They were also treated to premium coffee, a catered buffet lunch, prize drawing, and vendor giveaways.
Taraval Station’s Captain Lum, Lieutenant Bailey, and Lieutenant Johnson attended the Summit.
