Do you think they should get rid of quotas for traffic Cops?

Question

I do not understand how having to give so many tickets per month can stop or reduce crime.

Answer 1

No, they should keep quotas. It helps get revenue for the city or county and if you don't break the law, you have no problem.

Answer 2

People have this mistaken notion that police are here solely to prevent and respond to violent criminal activity.

That simply is not the case, nor has it ever historically been. While the main function of a police department is patrol duty, it certainly isn't everything police do.

Traffic Police are around for safety. As much as people want to deny it, people breaking traffic laws are a danger to society. I have never *EVER* worked an accident where every driver obeyed every traffic law. There is always a law violation and it usually works.

Besides, criminals are mobile. Last month, I found 2 felons in possession of a firearm, cleared 2 felony warrants, found "hard drugs" (cocaine/meth) on 2 occasions and made 4 DWI arrests...One of them was a felony. Not to mention the misdemeanor warrants I find daily....All of them stemming from car stops for simple law violations.

So yeah...In actuality, I think me out there stopping cars does in fact reduce crime.

Answer 3

I know of no one who actually uses quotas.  There are a lot of people who like to say they only got the ticket because the officer had to fill his quota as opposed to they deserved the ticket.   Maybe some department do but idk.  

Answer 4

Quotas for citations was made illegal many years ago.  That is a myth perpetuated by people who don't like getting citations.  It is the officer's JOB to do just that.  

How can you possibly not understand what it would be like if there were no consequences for people's actions?  No traffic laws would be anarchy.  I can't even imagine how many deaths and accidents would occur daily, let alone each year.

Answer 5

I think we should decriminalize victimless crimes.  I think we have WAY too much law enforcement dedicated to minor offenses.  We need less law enforcement as a whole and more of what remains dedicated to stopping real crimes against people or property.  We need to stiffen criminal punishment SEVERELY.  And we need to give honest citizens better ways to fight crime themselves and stop making them fearful of the legal system which should be protecting them.

Edit- drug crimes are victimless crimes.  A dealer sells drugs, a buyer wants them.  There is no crime.  The drug war has been a huge miserable failure with billions of tax money spent on enforcement and imprisonment and by all accounts drug use has continued to trend upwards.  The real crime is making them illegal, thus causing prices to increase, thus causing an increase in violence as people try to obtain them or to obtain money to get them.

Also, when I pass up to 4 separate law enforcement vehicles sitting by the side of the road during rush hour, slowing down traffic, and it takes ONE HOUR for law enforcement to respond to a robbery at my store, that's when I know that our current policy is a failure.

Here's how it works:  someone shoplifts, robs, threatens you (anotherwords REAL crimes)  and you call police....  Prepare to wait routinely for 15-30 minutes for a response, and possibly up to an hour.  But if someone comes into your store with a fake prescription to get a drug illegally (a VICTIMLESS crime) than you can expect 2-3 police cars, a paddy wagon and maybe even 1-2 undercover cars to come to your store in probably as little as 5 minutes.

Another example of misplaced priorities in our society.

But I don't blame law enforcment.  I blame the politicians, the prosecutors office, the voters and everyone else who determines their agenda.

Answer 6

I don't know of any places that use/have quotas although they might be out there. This is a tool used by the anti-police people (as stated already) to try get some dirt on "the man."

As to answer your question, no. Setting a minimal amount of work is usually part of any job. If a traffic cop is good at their job, then a quota would be a simple goal for them.

Answer 7

When did ( quotas ) start ?

Answer 8

Quotas don't exist.  Anti-Police like to say they do so they can stir people up but no one is making me write a certain number of tickets every month.