The City of Ione proudly announced yesterday that the Ione Police Department has recently been awarded first place in the 2007 California Law Enforcement Challenge. The Law Enforcement Challenge is a competition between similarUnited States. The areas of concentration include enforcement efforts and educating the public about occupant protection, impaired driving, and speeding. The winning safety programs are those that combine officer training, public information and enforcement to reduce crashes and injuries within respective jurisdictions. This accomplishment marks the Ione Police Department's second consecutive first place victory within its category. 

“The back to back first place finishes reflect the hard work of our officers and assures that we will remain competitive for future grant funding”, says Michael Johnson, Chief of Police of Ione. “In this time of shrinking budgets and limited funding sources, we need all the grants that we can get.  Ultimately it is the residents of the city that benefit from these traffic enforcement grants by making our roadways safer for all drivers and pedestrians." The City of Ione has experienced a dramatic decrease in traffic collisions in the past three years as a direct result of increased traffic enforcement efforts.

There were 46 accidents in 2005 and 26 accidents in 2007 -about a 45 percent decrease in accidents overall.  The use of seatbelts has increased the State average of 94% compliance. This program is financed through a grant awarded to the International Association of Chief’s of Police by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. Representatives of the Ione Police Department will be traveling to Sacramento in September to be honored and receive the award.  For more information, contact Chief Michael Johnson at the Ione Police Department 209-274-2456, ext 108. sizes and types of law enforcement agencies. It recognizes and rewards the best overall traffic safety programs in the