High Visibility Enforcement

CITY OF ORO VALLEY, ARIZONA

ISSUE STRATEGIES TAKEAWAYS

➤ High crash urban intersections

➤ Repeated distracted driver

behavior leading to avoidable

crashes

➤ Negative public view of

enforcement actions

➤ High visibility enforcement

advertised in advance

➤ Educational messaging with

every stop

➤ Constant dialogue with media

and citizens

➤ 27% crash reduction for two urban

intersections

➤ Media partnership

➤ Public transparency

➤ Significant educational awareness

Background

The Oro Valley Police Department (OVPD) has created a datadriven initiative to improve traffic safety in the town of Oro 

Valley, Arizona. The program is called “HiVE” or High Visibility 

Enforcement, designed to target intersections that have high 

crash rates. HiVE is described as an “educational” initiative 

rather than a strict enforcement detail with the following two 

primary components: 

1. OVPD publishes HiVE’s future deployment dates and

times to television, print, radio, and social media. This is

to alert the community about the increased visibility of law

enforcement and to improve communications between

the police and citizens. Partnering with local media is a

key component of the HiVE.

2. During scheduled deployments, OVPD places six

motorcycle officers in and around the targeted

intersections. Motorcycle officers actively enforce traffic

violations during peak travel times. The graphic below

shows the HiVE logo developed for communications and

program identification.

OVPD reminds motorists not to engage in distracted driving or 

other driving behaviors that contribute to avoidable injury or 

fatal vehicle crashes.

The Challenge

When injury crashes reached an all-time high in Oro Valley, the 

Police Department held its first series of HiVE deployments for 

its motorcycle officers with the goal of increasing awareness 

and safety. At that time, two intersections, see Table 1 

accounted for roughly 20 percent of all injury-related crashes 

so the department sought to change driving behavior by 

implementing the following1:

• Raising awareness by bringing attention to the problem

• Having law enforcement present and highly visible to

the public

• Demonstrating intent to educate and train versus holding

a punitive “ticket writing campaign”

• Showing transparency by warning the public about

deployments and publishing the police deployment actions

HiVE enforcement using motorcycles. 

Image Source: ORO Valley Police

HiVE logo used for communications.

Source: Oro Valley Police

Case Study 4: Noteworthy Speed Management Practices 1 FHWA-SA-20-080
High Visibility Enforcement

Enforcement Actions

Over a 3-year period, OVPD conducted 142 HiVE 

deployments resulting in 4,005 traffic stops. Given the focus 

on education, this resulted in only 1 in 5 drivers receiving a 

moving violation citation. OVPD made a concerted effort to be 

transparent in the results of each deployment and in providing 

a 3-year analysis of crashes since the program began.

Key Takeaways and Lessons Learned

OVPD is working hard to show transparency to the public and to 

work with media outlets on the HiVE program. However, since 

this is a continuous program, it takes repeated efforts to ensure 

that messaging is consistent and that it accurately reflects the 

program’s intent. Several lessons learned include the following:

Diligent Messaging – Do not let the media change the 

message. The police department has to be diligent in avoiding 

negative messaging such as:

• “Oro Valley police officers working speed zones.”

• “Speed-trap at Oracle and Magee today.”

• “OVPD looking for speeders this morning.”

When these messages appear OVPD works with the media 

outlets to make sure citizens are informed well ahead of any 

deployments and to stress the education components, (see 

example public message months in advance of deployment2).

Example public message in advance of enforcement actions.

Data Driven – OVPD conducted a study, measuring crashes 

before and during the HiVE program as shown in Table 1. On 

average, these two signalized intersections experienced 25 

fewer crashes each year. A comparison of injury related crashes 

showed a 42 percent reduction at Oracle Road and Suffolk Drive 

and 15 percent reduction at Oracle Road and Magee Road.

Long Term Focus – OVPD continues to operate the 

HiVE program and believe that it is making a difference 

increasing awareness and reducing avoidable crashes 

related to speed, inattention, following too close, and 

failing to yield to other drivers.

Table 1. Crash frequency comparison before and during HiVE

Intersection Pre-HiVE (2010-2012) HiVE (2013-2015) Crash Reduction

Oracle Rd. at Suffolk Dr. 124 72 -42%

Oracle Rd. at Magee Rd. 144 123 -15%

Intersections Combined 268 195 -27%

1 Sharp, Daniel. High Visibility Enforcement [Presentation]. Noteworthy Speed Management Practices webinar. ITE, June 13, 2019.

2 High Visibility Enforcement (HIVE) April and May Deployments, Town of Oro Valley, 10 April 10, 2019. 

https://www.orovalleyaz.gov/Government/News/High-Visibility-Enforcement-HiVE-August-Deployment

The Oro Valley Police Department (OVPD) will be 

conducting its “High Visibility Enforcement” (HiVE) efforts 

during the months of April and May on Oracle Road and 

Magee. OVPD hopes to increase awareness and reduce 

collisions related to speed, inattention, following too 

close, and failing to yield to other drivers.

OVPD will deploy motorcycle officers on the following dates:

Tuesday, April 16, 2019 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Thursday, May 2, 2019 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 

(distracted driving 

deployment)

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Motorists are asked to be aware of the additional 

enforcement activity and drive safely. If you have any 

questions about this release or traffic related issues in Oro 

Valley, please contact (Officer Name, Phone Number).

Case Study 4: Noteworthy Speed Management Practices 2 FHWA-SA-20-080