Do LAPD patrol police officers have a quota as to how many tickets they must issue per day?

Question

I received a citation for making a right turn as the light changed from green to yellow. The officer claimed I turned on red, but I assume he was just trying to meet his quota. As the light turned green for him, he sped up and flashed me. My girlfriend was with me at the time and agrees with me. I told the officer my beliefs and he simply stated "That's what court is for. I've been in the force for 21 yrs. We'll see who wins." Any suggestions as to how I can beat this unfair ticket?

Answer 1

I cant answer the question about quotas, however, most police units now have mounted cameras on their dash. They are their for both the officer's and the citizen's safety and justice. It would have recorded whether the light was in fact red or yellow when you turned.

I would consult an attorney to see if it is possible to force the officer to enter the recording of this incident into evidence.

Answer 2

Old news. There are no quotas. Never were, never will be.

Quota's are only used by people who wish to justify and excuse their bad behavior, rather than take the consequences.

"The fact I was doing 90 in a school zone is irrelevant...he just wanted to meet his quota!"

Somehow, in the talk of quotas, a simple fact is ignored, quotas or not...the person still broke the law.

And so what if there are? I would like to know, as a taxpayer, that the police are doing their jobs. And what better way then for the supervisors to say you have to write so many tickets a day.

Judging from the way people drive, cops obviously are not doing enough.

Doubtful your light was going green to yellow. More likely yellow to red. Also yellow means stop, not speed up to beat the red. In many states, you must begin to stop on a yellow.

Arguing with the cop in the street does nothing...its not the people court or your HS debate club.

He alreadt KNOWS you did it, thats why he stopped you. If you wish to debate it, thats what court is for. Arguing in the street only ensures one thing..that you will be getting a ticket. When someone argues with me, I take that to mean they do not know that what they did was wrong, so we must procede to the next step. No, you will not beat him in court, either. He will plead his case, you will whine you didn't do it, maybe you will be smart enough to mention "quotas (judges LOVE that) and then you will be found guilty. See the cop has no reason to lie. He gets paid whether he writes 100 tickets or none. Simple fact. Him lying proves nothing, esp when at any given moment there are people commiting traffic violations all over the place. Why lie to get you when there are others?

You on the other hand have every reason to lie...so unless you present evidence, like a photo, that the light was in fact green, you are wrong.

FYI... the camera the poster below talks about...most times only is on for the actual stop. It does not record all day. Even if it did, the odds of it getting a light are slim to none.

Answer 3

to answer the question of quota, there is none.

this explanation may help:

if you were to hire 10 people to pick apples. each day 8 of them averages 10 buckets each. 2 of them only 1 bucket each. you would soon feel you were not getting your moneys worth in labor.

just like departments. if the department heads are not seeing an average amount of work by everyone, someone is not doing their job. documentation is a way for them to see what their officers are doing.

there are many things to do such as getting out and doing business security checks, patroling the parks or high drug traffic areas for suspicious activities. Some officers just write tickets because they are more easily documented.

as far as unfair, the sarcastic remark about quotas quite possibly "talked" you into a ticket. why the hurry? the law states (at least here) that:

"a vehicle approaching either a RR crossing or intersection with intent to turn must be traveling at a rate of speed that is slow enough to stop in case of oncoming pedestrians or trains..."

also....right on red after stop is permitted unless posted otherwise.

any other officer's agree?

Answer 4

There are NO quotas for police.  However, police supervisors know that certain patrol areas have higher traffic volumes and therefore there will be a higher number of tickets issued there.

In my experience, the supervisors expected that on average there would be 3 tickets issued per day.  You would not get in trouble for issuing fewer tickets, but should you go for a week or more without issuing a ticket it would raise concerns among the administration that you aren't doing your job.  Clearly, the administration understand that on some days you will write 3 tickets and on others 1 and on others 5.

Answer 5

NO no no no.  quotas are ILLEGAL! No conspiracy, they do not exist.