Charlotte-Mecklenburg officers have been ordered to run steady blue lights on their patrol vehicles.Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD/Facebook
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced Tuesday that officers will now run steady blue lights on patrol vehicles 24/7.
Charlotte Police say the initiative increases police presence to deter crime and helps city residents feel more secure, WBTV reports.
“The goal of this change is to enhance visibility of our officers using one of the best assets that we have -- and that’s our police vehicles and our blue lights,” Lt. Kevin Pietrus said. “In order to help the people of Charlotte see their police officers and feel safe.”
Initially, the steady blue light program was tested in the city’s central core known as “Uptown.” The program called Uptown Heartbeat originally ran from 2022-2023. Last week it was restarted and now has expanded to patrol vehicles across the city and county.
