A total of 42,290 traffic and criminal citations were issued statewide during this year’s “No Need 2 Speed” campaign, which ran March 25 through 31. 

Law enforcement officers from across the state partnered with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program to increase enforcement in an effort to put a stop to one of the main causes of crashes and fatalities on North Carolina’s roads – speeding.

“Law enforcement’s presence on our roads is imperative to reminding motorists to obey speed limits, and we greatly appreciate their dedication to keeping our roads safe,” said Becky Wallace, director of GHSP.

Officers also issued 3,157 safety belt and 587 child passenger safety violations and 1,111 drug charges.

SHELBY, NC (WBTV)- A Shelby woman pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday for her involvement in a health care fraud scheme that defrauded Medicaid of $8 million. She also pleaded guilty to stealing a therapist's identity to commit the fraud and to filing a false tax return.

According to court officials, 37-year-old Victoria Finney Brewton, of Shelby, pleaded guilty to seven counts of health care fraud and health care fraud conspiracy, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of filing a false tax return.

Brewton admitted that from 2008 to 2012 she and Linda Radeker, also of Shelby, and others submitted in excess of $8 million in false claims to Medicaid.

A raft of new laws addressing crime and punishment take effect on Saturday, including a move widening a three-year-old North Carolina statute criminalizing cyberbullying to protect school employees.

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina said the law may be the first of its kind in the country, and the organization said it will seek plaintiffs for a possible court challenge to change it, contending it threatens to chill students' free speech rights.

The law threatens criminal penalties on students who use a computer with "the intent to intimidate or torment a school employee" by engaging in the same nasty online behavior that already makes it illegal to target a minor.