MDOT showcases crime-fighting technology in Bay St. Louis
BAY ST. LOUIS -- The Mississippi Department of Transportation demonstrated some advanced crime-fighting equipment Wednesday at its inspection station on Interstate 10.
Portable vehicle scales that can fit in the trunk of a patrol car and a mobile infrared scanner were on display, in addition to fixed equipment at the station.
About a dozen MDOT enforcement officers conducted commercial vehicle inspections as part of a statewide media campaign to help communities become familiar with the agency's practices.
Maj. Michael Foreman, MDOT's southern district commander, said just about every commercial vehicle traveling on I-10 through Mississippi must stop at the inspection station in Bay St. Louis.
There the officers weigh the vehicle's payload, inspect its mechanical integrity, check the driver's log books and sometimes search the vehicle for contraband.
"Safety on the highways," Foreman said. "That's what it's about."
In the last fiscal year, MDOT's enforcement division collected nearly $16 million in permit and penalty fees statewide.
The $650,000 mobile infrared scanner, which is controlled from a van, can be set up on virtually any road. When a vehicle passes by the infrared camera, an officer can see heat signatures to determine if the brakes, exhaust and other components are working correctly.
Officer Monica Griffin, who is one of a few trained to operate the infrared system, said if a truck's brakes aren't glowing white on the infrared monitor, it usually indicates they aren't working. Similarly, she said, the scanner can detect false compartments on a vehicle, such as an extra exhaust pipe that doesn't give off heat.
In 2011, MDOT officers in Bay St. Louis stopped a tractor-trailer that was hauling $7 million worth of marijuana.
The officers discovered the marijuana, which weighed about 7,000 pounds, while conducting a routine weight check at the I-10 inspection station.
This year, MDOT began focusing on the growing problem of human trafficking.
"It's soon going to surpass the drug industry," Foreman said.
The problem came to the forefront in Jackson County last month when federal authorities raided a St. Martin massage parlor and arrested two of its employees on charges of running a prostitution and human trafficking ring.
Foreman said all MDOT officers underwent training this summer on how to detect signs of human trafficking.
This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 4:52 PM with the headline "MDOT showcases crime-fighting technology in Bay St. Louis ."