An Elkins police car (may not be marked and/or may not have an overhead light bar) is frequently parked in the Pizza Junction parking lot on Hwy 16 facing oncoming traffic that is coming from the east on Hwy 74. Radar gun is alternately pointed in all three directions at this “T” intersection.

The police also sit every night in the antique shop parking lot on the other side of Hwy 16. They like to watch license plates (registration stickers) and seatbelts when people slow down and turn at the intersection. Folks coming from Fayetteville and turning NE on Hwy 74 can expect to be followed out of town – there is no place to pull off on the right side of Hwy 74 for about a half-mile if you are eastbound.

Be sure you always pull off the highway onto private property (past the state highway right of way) because the tow charges, impound fees, and storage fees in Elkins are astronomical. Cops can’t have you towed off of private property – that is between you and the property owner.

According to an alderman, the police, the mayor, the city prosecutor, and the District Court judge are all in colusion to make enough money from traffic-related fines to contribute heavily to their pension fund. In the words of a Fayetteville prosecutor, “They are waaaay too busy out in Elkins.”

There is at least one full-time policeman for every 300 residents. Plus Elkins has a number of part-timers and a some auxiliary (volunteer) officers who work weekends. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights you are pretty much guaranteed to see flashing blue lights if you take a drive through Elkins.

No need to worry about the Washington County sheriff cars in town. They won’t hassle you – many county sheriff deputies live in Elkins and are just as upset as everyone else at the local police tactics.