A more aggressive, agency-wide approach to law enforcement referred to as “Criminal Patrol” is yielding positive results in the Wright City community, according to officers with the police department. It also is creating some misconceptions. The concept of criminal patrol evolved 10 to 15 years ago, according to Patrol Sgt. Casey Doyle, who introduced the concept to the Wright City Police Department after joining the agency last May. “The overall goal is to stop the criminal element,” Doyle said. “Writing tickets is not the focus. The focus is to reduce the criminal element coming to Wright City and, indirectly, to other communities.” “We never really know what we’ll run across on I-70,” Police Lt. Matt Eskew remarked. “Criminals use the interstate because they know there’s not a large presence of law enforcement there, except for the highway patrol,” Eskew continued. “If 500 pounds of marijuana gets to St. Louis, some of that will come back west because the local dealers are going to St. Louis. If it’s not St. Louis, it’s Kansas City.” Eskew stressed that when people see Wright City police situated along I-70, officers usually are on the lookout for vehicles matching specific descriptions of vehicles which appear suspicious. “We might stop a vehicle with a license plate lamp out, but within a couple of minutes, the stop goes beyond a ticket and it could be the difference whether someone lives or dies,” Doyle stated. “We’re looking for the person who is trying to profit off the suffering of others.” Eskew added that the nature of the police department’s responsibilities will require officers to occasionally work along I-70, especially since roughly five miles of the interstate is within the jurisdiction of the Wright City Police Department.  “One of the biggest misconceptions is that we’re on the interstate running radar, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Doyle added. “We hope people understand what we’re trying to do, and if anyone has questions, I’d be more than happy to explain what we’re trying to accomplish.” He added that the same approach is being taken along the streets and roadways in and around Wright City as well. “We’re doing the same criminal patrol work on our city streets as we do on the interstate,” he commented. “Since most crimes are committed in and around vehicles, traffic stops are a big part of criminal patrol.” The end result is that many arrests begin with a traffic stop, Doyle noted. “As criminals and crime evolve, we, as law enforcement officers, also have to evolve,” Eskew said. “Our guys are out there looking for signs of criminal activity and it’s working out great,” stated Police Chief Doug Saulters. Wright City Police Logo