Can we draw the following hypothesis from the context? 

Context:

I remember when the stories first came out about the stops in New Jersey by the highway patrol there. And I know it's been going on a long time. In some ways this is just a new label for something that has been going on for years. But I have to confess that it was the first time that I really focused on it in a new way.

Hypothesis: I certainly put my attention on an issue for the first time even though I recognize it from when it first started.
Yes