Highway Patrol Launches New STORM Team To Target Dangerous Driving, Crime

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri State Highway Patrol has launched a new enforcement unit designed to crack down on hazardous driving and criminal activity across the state.

The Strategic Traffic Operations and Rapid Mobilization team, which became active Sept. 1, is made up of 23 troopers with specialized training. The group includes canine handlers, impaired driving enforcement officers, interdiction experts, motorcycle officers, and hazardous moving specialists. The Patrol’s Aircraft Division will also be involved in many operations.

The team’s first large-scale deployment took place Sept. 16 in Jackson County, where ten STORM members and the Aircraft Division focused on reckless driving and drug activity. That effort resulted in 72 traffic stops, 27 non-moving citations, 14 hazardous moving citations, five speeding tickets, 18 misdemeanor arrests, 12 felony arrests, and the seizure of a firearm.

Patrol officials said STORM will be sent where it’s needed most — from highways with high crash rates to areas of criminal activity and street takeover events.

Colonel Michael A. Turner, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, called the initiative “a proactive step” toward keeping Missouri safe for both residents and visitors.