By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis – Plain-clothed police officers are going to be on the look-out for jaywalkers and other traffic violators in the St. Louis area.
University City, St. Charles, and St. Louis are kicking off a campaign to emphasize pedestrian safety.
Michael Seimers is the commander of traffic safety for the St. Louis Police Department. He says it's going to be a wake-up call for both drivers and pedestrians.
"You know, we have to slow down," Seimers said. "People refuse to slow down, they walk, they drive fast, they talk on cell phones and they just don't pay attention. And the bottom line is people get hurt; people get killed and we're trying to avoid that."
Seimers says the department's traffic control officers will patrol about five or six times a week through next April.
Violators will be given warnings or citations.
The program is being paid for through a $70,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration.