Barney the Robo-Cop is Mathews County’s newest answer to speeding drivers. The solar-powered Kustom Signals Speed Enforcement Trailer, equipped with a computer and internal radar, was purchased by the Mathews County Sheriff’s Office for $13,500 with a grant from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, fully funded through the American Rescue Plan Act. The device is able to tabulate data from the speeds it picks up and then record the data into spreadsheets, said a press release from Mathews County Sheriff April Edwards. It will enable the sheriff’s office to determine where patrol efforts need to be focused, which days of the week speeding is likely to occur, and when the peak times of travel are. Barney is also equipped with messages and flashing lights to remind speeders to slow down. Shown here at Barney’s initial “swearing-in” on Thursday, Feb. 22, is Major Patric Graham.
...