Operation Nighthawk

The Pennsylvania State Police introduced Operation Nighthawk during the summer of 2002.  The program is a two-day Driving Under the Influence (DUI) training/enforcement experience for all police officers to attend.  The concept of the program includes specialized training in the area of DUI enforcement combined with motivational speakers in a classroom setting.  The motivation and education are immediately applied by officers during a massive DUI roving patrol event.  The program has a significant impact on all attendees as well as the citizens of the community.  The program is conducted on consecutive evenings beginning Friday and concluding Saturday night.  Classroom activities take place from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm on both evenings.  The classroom sessions are immediately followed by the DUI roving enforcement activities, which are conducted from 11:00 pm until 3:00 am. 

The concept for this program was selected based on the principle that too often topical information collected by attendees at a workshop, educational program or seminar cannot be immediately applied or practiced, and is, therefore , under utilized.  This program provides police officers attending the classroom educational and motivational training and the opportunity to immediately apply freshly learned knowledge during the enforcement portion of the program.  Additionally, each police officer is provided program-related items including: penlights, notebooks, organizers and shirts.  These tools help the officers remember the experience and value of the program.  At the conclusion of the classroom session, a pre-deployment enforcement briefing is conducted.  Both of these activities are important as the officers prepare for a three-hour intensive DUI roving enforcement activity each evening.

 A vigorous media campaign is conducted for each program.  The use of the media to inform the community of the massive DUI enforcement activity promotes the goals of the program and causes citizens to make better decisions regarding driving under the influence during that particular weekend.

The reinforcement of the Pennsylvania State Police’s commitment to remove impaired drivers from the highways and the motivation that this program creates is unmatched.  The program brings together police officers from a multitude of agencies to accomplish the ultimate goals of removing impaired drivers and saving lives.