Sooo, there is no ticket writing quotas!
08-31-2011, 05:32 PM
#1
Sooo, there is no ticket writing quotas!
With an average cost of $120 to $150 each, tickets generate $4.5 billion to $6 billion annually, the National Motorists Association estimates.
"Every jurisdiction is hungry for money, and the way they can get it is they offer overtime, and the guys with the heavy pencils will get the overtime," says Casey Raskob, a New York traffic lawyer.
The speeding-ticket treadmill
Elected officials tend to deny that fines are used to generate revenue, but even objective research has supported the phenomenon.
Drivers don't like it. Citizens don't like it. But perhaps no one dislikes the push for traffic tickets more than police officers themselves, who say the intricacy and delicacy of their job requires that they be allowed to select the best response for each situation. And issuing a ticket to meet department performance standards or city quotas is not always the best route to promoting public safety, police say.
(Police unions have filed multiple lawsuits against the practice in municipalities around the country. In April, a jury awarded $2 million to two Los Angeles patrolmen who said they were retaliated against by police brass after complaining about the practice.)
"Not all violations are created equal, and not all violators are created equal," says Jeffrey Silva, a former patrol officer who now serves as a detective lieutenant and a lawyer in Massachusetts.
"An experienced driver in good weather conditions, in a car with good tires with no one on the road, going 20 mph over the speed limit, is not the same as a 17-year-old with no experience, with bald tires in the rain, with school in session," he says. "And there are a million gradations between those two scenarios."
As the police chief in Roseville emphasized, the ultimate goal is public safety.
Even after a traffic stop is made, sometimes an officer's message is better received with a warning and an explanation rather than a $200 fine.
"You may get more value out of that," says Silva. "The driver thinks, 'Wow, he really cares about my safety, he didn't give me a ticket.' Every citizen contact is an opportunity for the officer to advance or erode community relations."
"Every jurisdiction is hungry for money, and the way they can get it is they offer overtime, and the guys with the heavy pencils will get the overtime," says Casey Raskob, a New York traffic lawyer.
The speeding-ticket treadmill
Elected officials tend to deny that fines are used to generate revenue, but even objective research has supported the phenomenon.
Drivers don't like it. Citizens don't like it. But perhaps no one dislikes the push for traffic tickets more than police officers themselves, who say the intricacy and delicacy of their job requires that they be allowed to select the best response for each situation. And issuing a ticket to meet department performance standards or city quotas is not always the best route to promoting public safety, police say.
(Police unions have filed multiple lawsuits against the practice in municipalities around the country. In April, a jury awarded $2 million to two Los Angeles patrolmen who said they were retaliated against by police brass after complaining about the practice.)
"Not all violations are created equal, and not all violators are created equal," says Jeffrey Silva, a former patrol officer who now serves as a detective lieutenant and a lawyer in Massachusetts.
"An experienced driver in good weather conditions, in a car with good tires with no one on the road, going 20 mph over the speed limit, is not the same as a 17-year-old with no experience, with bald tires in the rain, with school in session," he says. "And there are a million gradations between those two scenarios."
As the police chief in Roseville emphasized, the ultimate goal is public safety.
Even after a traffic stop is made, sometimes an officer's message is better received with a warning and an explanation rather than a $200 fine.
"You may get more value out of that," says Silva. "The driver thinks, 'Wow, he really cares about my safety, he didn't give me a ticket.' Every citizen contact is an opportunity for the officer to advance or erode community relations."
08-31-2011, 10:57 PM
#3
Safety Car
Member Since: Dec 2009
Location: Lake Havasu City Arizona
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St. Jude Donor '12
I'm sorry, thats about as stupid an article posting as I've seen. Now if you believe some dumb azzz traffic attorney from new york, I have some land with a bridge i'd like to sell you!
Now dont get me wrong, there are dumb azz leo's for sure, I spent 30 years in the business and Ive seen alot of dumb things but the article was poorly written and of course only a very small portion of the article was even provided.
Now dont get me wrong, there are dumb azz leo's for sure, I spent 30 years in the business and Ive seen alot of dumb things but the article was poorly written and of course only a very small portion of the article was even provided.
08-31-2011, 11:56 PM
#4
The entire article was long winded so I only posted this clip. I don't see it as negative toward any officer, just the opposite. But it does make one think about the politics involved and how they effect general public. I'm definitely not anti establishment but I think most have noticed the cost of fines go through the roof. The red light cameras still have not been proven to lower the risk of accidents but are great revenue generators. And when one sees 4 of them stationed over five entrances to a mall that makes you think if there is no alternate motive for their presence. CHP is entrusted in maintaining safety on roadways through out the state and does not receive anything back for citation's they issue so I don't believe this would apply to them. Maybe the discretion part but that is all and I agree there are good and bad cops out there. It is definitely different when local department has two motor officers executing a speed trap in a busy area and there is no one to respond to a auto vandalism two blocks away. Again I don't blame the officer on the bike as he is doing his job as it was assigned to him and would never even be aware of an incident where report is only taken over the phone. Little scrutiny is a good thing and after 30 years on the force you know blind trust leads to great disappointments.
Now is that a single or double lane bridge?
Now is that a single or double lane bridge?
09-01-2011, 10:21 AM
#5
Safety Car
Member Since: Dec 2009
Location: Lake Havasu City Arizona
Posts: 4,194
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Received 302 Likes
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St. Jude Donor '12
The entire article was long winded so I only posted this clip. I don't see it as negative toward any officer, just the opposite. But it does make one think about the politics involved and how they effect general public. I'm definitely not anti establishment but I think most have noticed the cost of fines go through the roof. The red light cameras still have not been proven to lower the risk of accidents but are great revenue generators. And when one sees 4 of them stationed over five entrances to a mall that makes you think if there is no alternate motive for their presence. CHP is entrusted in maintaining safety on roadways through out the state and does not receive anything back for citation's they issue so I don't believe this would apply to them. Maybe the discretion part but that is all and I agree there are good and bad cops out there. It is definitely different when local department has two motor officers executing a speed trap in a busy area and there is no one to respond to a auto vandalism two blocks away. Again I don't blame the officer on the bike as he is doing his job as it was assigned to him and would never even be aware of an incident where report is only taken over the phone. Little scrutiny is a good thing and after 30 years on the force you know blind trust leads to great disappointments.
Now is that a single or double lane bridge?
Now is that a single or double lane bridge?
09-05-2011, 11:55 PM
#6
Burning Brakes
Bearphoto is right. The penalty assessments are the ridiculous part. The last ticket I got was totally bogus and a rookie CHP officer lied his azz off on the stand to make it stick. I give him credit, he was a great liar and the gullable judge believed him. Anyhow, my $500 citation turned into $2006 with penalty assessments! Gotta love L.A. County
09-07-2011, 07:33 PM
#7
Former Vendor
Bearphoto is right. The penalty assessments are the ridiculous part. The last ticket I got was totally bogus and a rookie CHP officer lied his azz off on the stand to make it stick. I give him credit, he was a great liar and the gullable judge believed him. Anyhow, my $500 citation turned into $2006 with penalty assessments! Gotta love L.A. County
09-10-2011, 07:01 PM
#8
Burning Brakes
The CHP even wrote the wrong kind of car on my ticket and I still got nailed. He had no radar, no laser, his car hadn't been calibrated for over a year, and he was not a certified speed estimator by his own admission. So, all he had left was to lie to make his ticket stick and he was successful at it. Oh well.
