Saugerties Police launches Lights On! voucher program

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. (NEWS10) =- Getting pulled over by a police officer can definitely be nerve-racking, however, Saugerties Police are working to ease those tensions.  Starting June 1st, if you happen to get pulled over in Saugerties for broken lights on your vehicle, Saugerties Police will hand you a voucher instead of a ticket. At no cost to the driver.

The Saugerties Police Department will be the first law enforcement agency in New York State to roll out on the national Lights On! program. This program allows officers to hand out vouchers to drivers instead of tickets when they have a broken light on their vehicles. Lights On! is community funded program and free to police department and voucher recipients. The initial funding is made possible through First Responders Children’s Foundation CSX Pride in Service grant. “[Some people are] making hard decisions if they can pay for this light bulb or [asking themselves] can I pay for my rent? Can I feed my children? They’re making those decisions and with that voucher that brings that down,” says Lights On! Program Director Sherman Patterson.

“Now we can provide an opportunity you know what, you’re going to get that light fixed, it’s going to cost you nothing. You won’t get stopped by any other police agency because your lights fixed, and we’ve stopped that vicious circle of financially impacting people when they’re down on their luck,” says Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra. Sinagra says the program’s purpose is twofold: It cuts struggling motorists a break and improves relationships between the public and police.

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