The Amateur Radio 'Pumpkin Patrol'

They have been dubbed 'the Pumpkin Patrol' and they were out in full force in the days surrounding Halloween.

Ham radio operators were monitoring bridges along the New York State Thruway on Halloween night, as they have for about 20 years. They were looking for vandals who toss pumpkins, rocks or other objects from overpasses onto vehicles below.

Speaking to the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper, Keith Freeberg, N2BEL, of the Rochester Amateur Radio Association says that the involvement of hams is very important. That radio amateurs act as additional eyes and ears of the New York State Police. Freeberg says that if any suspicious activity is noted, the hams call the police and they respond immediately.

Freeberg said about 28 ham-radio operators from the Rochester area were participating this year. He told the newspaper that he couldn't remember any Halloween incidents of pumpkin- or rock-tossing onto vehicles since the patrol started in the early 1980s

The "Pumpkin Patrol" grew out of a grassroots effort led by an unidentified Montgomery County woman. Back in 1976 she came across a trucker near an overpass who was injured by a thrown rock. Using her CB radio she organized a vigil that met at the bridge each Halloween.

The state police picked up on the effort a few years later. They modified the program and have overseen it ever since. That's about the same time frame when the 550 member Rochester Amateur Radio Association became involved.
The club has been an integral part of the Pumpkin Patrol ever since.

The Pumpkin Patrol is actually a two day operation. Hams go out on the night before Halloween as well as on Halloween night. Freeberg said he and his colleagues let presumed pranksters know they're being watched.

Evi Simons
Amateur Radio Newsline

• The Rochester group was not the only ham radio organization involved in this year's New York State Pumpkin Patrol. In all, 24 sheriff's offices, 46 police agencies and about 20 radio groups including the famed Mt. Beacon Amateur Radio Club took part.