Beginning this Friday, La Porte police will take part in an additional 35 patrol hours with one main focus: enforcing seat belt and child restraint laws.

The 35 additional hours are part of the department’s Comprehensive Highway Injury Reduction Program, which is a grant program funded through federal highway safety funds. The program is administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

“The time period around Christmas and New Years was chosen because it is a good time for us to remember that one of the best things we can do for our loved ones is to always make sure they are properly restrained when in a motor vehicle,” said Captain Pat Hemphill. “The greatest way to prevent injury or death in a motor vehicle crash is to be buckled up 100% of the time.”

The traffic safety patrols will run from this Friday, December 20, through Monday, January 6.

For more information, visit www.in.gov/cji.