CANTON -- St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary Rain said in a statement released today that she supports St. Lawrence County’s police officers prosecuting their own vehicle and traffic tickets.

She says the plan is twofold: to free up scheduling at local courts and to give officers experience so they better know how to better investigate crimes to ensure a smooth trial.

“This was a valuable learning tool for me as a young police officer as it continues to be for … police … today," Rain said in a statement. "It was just this type of training that allowed me to better appreciate how to better investigate crimes to ensure cases when handed to prosecutors were ready for trial.”

Her office says prosecutors will still work with local courts to resolve as many tickets as possible before they go to trial.

“With early resolution of vehicle and traffic tickets court resources could be better directed at more serious crimes and offenses,” Rain said in her statement.

St. Lawrence County police officers are not required to prosecute their own tickets.

“We remain available to assist local police agencies who choose not to participate in the program," she says in the statement.