Porter County Sheriff’s Office share update on Project Safe Roads program

The Officer assigned to this initiative, Sgt. Brockman, has handled over 200 traffic complaints in Porter County since the program’s inception. In addition, Sgt. Brockman began handling our Junk and Abandoned vehicle complaints and dealing with any vehicle tagged that was left unattended on the side of the road. So far in 2025, she has handled 43 of these incidents as well.

Project Safe Roads and the Traffic Unit will continue going forward and in large part has been very successful in addressing problem areas, while also keeping Patrol Officers available to handle emergency calls and able to do proactive enforcement. In the event our Agency gets needed manpower in 2026, the Traffic Unit will grow to two full time Officers at that time. We would like to take this moment to also recognize Sgt. Brockman’s efforts in piloting the Traffic Unit and the consistent hard work she has put forward for our Agency.

Sincerely,

Sgt. McFalls

Sgt. Brockman said, “I’ve really enjoyed being a part of this initiative. For me, it was the positive interactions with the Citizens of Porter County. It had been very satisfying to see and talk to people who are excited about being heard by the Sheriff’s Office.”

Sheriff Balon stated, “Project Safe Roads has been a tremendous success and Sgt. Brockman has set the bar on what the future of this program will look like. One of the biggest concerns that I hear from the Citizens of Porter County pertains to traffic issues on roads and in their neighborhoods. Project Safe Roads addresses the complaints directly and it is making a positive impact in Porter County. Unincorporated Porter County has approximately 800 miles of roads and since creating Project Safe Roads, we have received over 200 traffic complaints. With the primary focus of this program being on non-criminal related traffic issues, it allows on-duty Patrol Officers to respond to calls for service and to aggressively focus on criminal-related patrols. With this being said, statistics prove that the Porter County Sheriff’s Office needs to increase the number of Officers on the road, this is why I have asked for additional staffing. In the event that we receive additional Officers, I plan to increase our crew numbers on Patrol and add an additional Traffic Unit Officer to the team. Due to the sheer number of traffic complaints that we receive, means it is very difficult for one person to spend sufficient time on each complaint. Adding additional staffing to the team will make an even bigger impact. The ultimate goal of all of this is to make Porter County a safer place to live, work and visit.”

Patrol Commander Praschak was quoted as saying, “The quick evolution of the Project Safe Roads Program since the start of 2024 has been an invaluable tool for the Patrol Division. The formation of the Traffic Unit has allowed the department to provide our undivided attention to the public’s traffic safety concerns, while the Patrol crews continue their calls for service. Hopefully with the growth of the traffic unit we can proactively provide follow up attention to areas of concern prior to receiving repeat traffic complaints.”