In 1948 a book by Richard Holcomb entitled "Police Patrol" stated that "Many criminals that would have otherwise escaped have been arrested because they violated a traffic law and were arrested by an alert officer." The same is true today. Criminals travel to and from crime scenes, and they carry evidence of crimes in the cars they occupy. Further, they are not inclined to obey traffic laws. This means that effective traffic law enforcement can be a means of detecting crime, intercepting fleeing criminals, and preventing crime. Proper training for traffic law enforcement is critical in maximizing the crime- control impact of such enforcement operations, however. Officers should receive training in "looking beyond the ticket;" i.e., they must be trained to observe signs that the occupants of a vehicle may have been engaged in violations other than traffic law infractions. Officers should know what to do when a VIN plate appears to be mounted crooked, a handful of pawn tickets for TV's and VCR's is found in the car, motorists show stress or deception, and a driver claims he borrowed the car from a "friend" whose name he can't remember. Also, every street officer and supervisor should receive training in field sobriety testing and constant refreshers and updates on probable cause, search and seizure, and laws and ordinances. Officers should know how to ask a motorist for consent to search as well as how to use NCIC checks and investigative techniques to reveal criminal activity. The allocation of traffic law enforcement resources should target "hot spots" of crime where mobile offenders are likely to be concentrated or drunk drivers are likely to consume their alcoholic beverages prior to driving drunk.