Ticket quotas are myth for troopers

[obie7661]

Gas taxes, not speeding fines, pay for operation of State Highway Patrol

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/state/17257852.htm

[massillon catholic]

Gas taxes, not speeding fines, pay for operation of State Highway Patrol

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/state/17257852.htm


I tend to believe this. I was pulled over Dec 14 near Marietta heading to Florida. It would have been my third ticket in twelve months. The Trooper could have arrested me. impounded my vehicle, took my son to Child Services until I bailed out. Yet, he gave me only a warning and allowed my son and I to continue to Fla. If they had quota's he could have filled it with my stop. I wrote down his name and sent him a nice Christmas card.

[longtimefirsttime]

I know police officers get a bad rap. There are a few bad ones (just like there are bad employees anywhere) but most are good, hardworking people. Many would be amazed at how many warnings they issue. The demeanor of the driver also can play a part.

[obie7661]

IMO Ohio has one of the finest Highway Patrols in the country.

[CarlE]

I tend to believe this. I was pulled over Dec 14 near Marietta heading to Florida. It would have been my third ticket in twelve months. The Trooper could have arrested me. impounded my vehicle, took my son to Child Services until I bailed out. Yet, he gave me only a warning and allowed my son and I to continue to Fla. If they had quota's he could have filled it with my stop. I wrote down his name and sent him a nice Christmas card.

You came to Florida and didn't let me know? I'm pissed.

[massillon catholic]

You came to Florida and didn't let me know? I'm pissed.


I wasn't to far from you, I think. Sarasota to Bradentan everyday.

[CarlE]

You were probably right next to one of my properties on Anna Maria Island. Gosh, too bad. We could have had a good time.

[TigerswillbeTigers]

MC! With any luck at all you might have met CarlE's cleaning lady Jenna!

[TigerCoach]

Well, I can share with you another side to the story. A good friend of mine was hired by the State Highway Patrol and went through the academy. He ended up resigning because they were nothing but "ticket writers" and he was told that they must write so many tickets per month while patroling, etc. He ended up resigning because he wanted to "do some real police work", and was recently hired by the Barberton Police Dept.

[austinsm11]

Got pulled over at my first check point over the weekend. I thought the main point of these was to catch drunk drivers. I don't know how many they thought they would catch at 10 A.M. on a Sunday, but who knows.
My other theory is that they were parked right down the street from the soccer complex at the time the Hispanic leagues are playing so maybe they were trying to catch some of the illegals.

[longtimefirsttime]

He ended up resigning because he wanted to "do some real police work", and was recently hired by the Barberton Police Dept.

Coach, I get your point. Ohio troopers don't do thefts, burglaries or barking dogs. And while there is certainly a potential for danger, troopers only do traffic related things (unlike some other states). If you want to do more than traffic, then it's not for you. But after a few months of dealing with some of calls and people city police departments encounter, doing only traffic may not seem so bad. :wink:

[The Butler]

Got pulled over at my first check point over the weekend. I thought the main point of these was to catch drunk drivers. I don't know how many they thought they would catch at 10 A.M. on a Sunday, but who knows.



Some are set up with the intention of checking for insurance. Ohio has started setting them up earlier in the late afternoon/evening to get the "Happy Hour" crowd. One was set up here on Rt. 21 on a Sunday afternoon to catch people coming back from the Browns game.

[austinsm11]

Some are set up with the intention of checking for insurance. Ohio has started setting them up earlier in the late afternoon/evening to get the "Happy Hour" crowd. One was set up here on Rt. 21 on a Sunday afternoon to catch people coming back from the Browns game.

Good point about the insurance. They didn't check mine though. All they asked for was my license. He also looked at my e-check sticker and asked if my address was current. I told him that I had moved a few months ago and he said under North Carolina law we only have 60 days so I was lucky that he would not write me a ticket.

[TigerCoach]

Coach, I get your point. Ohio troopers don't do thefts, burglaries or barking dogs. And while there is certainly a potential for danger, troopers only do traffic related things (unlike some other states). If you want to do more than traffic, then it's not for you. But after a few months of dealing with some of calls and people city police departments encounter, doing only traffic may not seem so bad. :wink:

I'm not sure what he means by "real police work", but just imagine, as a State Trooper all you deal with is writing tickets and investigating accidents. As a city police officer, you deal more with the public and have an opportunity to make a real impact (hopefully a positive one) on the community. Sure, the risks may be greater, but I would think it's more fulfiling.

[TigerDL71]

I don't know if this is true or not but I have heard that a certain part of a ticket that a Trooper issues goes towards his retirement. I don't know if there is any truth in that or not. I have also heard that they don't have quotas at all but they do have meetings and the people in charge will ask why Officer Smith pulled over 20 people this month and you only pulled over 5.

[longtimefirsttime]

DL, I've heard that before but it's a myth. The public is often swayed by articles like this:
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/17/1763.asp
"Although the Ohio Highway Patrol technically receives its funding from a transportation account funded by gas taxes, increased general revenue from tickets allows lawmakers to spend more on other priorities. These priorities sometimes include additional funding for new state police programs."

That's a weak argument.

A trooper's retirement is based on years of service and his contributions to the system. Writing more or less tickets has no impact on this. I cannot speak for all departments across the U.S. but departments around here do not have a quota system. Yes they keep stats as one way to evaluate an officer's performance, but they don't tell them, "OK I want you all to write six tickets today."

[xtiger]

I wish local Police Officers had quotas for busting drug dealers.

[longtimefirsttime]

Here you go xtiger.
http://www.sheriff.co.stark.oh.us/metroEtip.htm

[tigerbill]

It seems like when I comment on a thread it dies. I don't know if it is because I'm so boring or if after I said it there isn't any more to be said.

Anyway, one morning on the way to work on 970WFLA out of Tampa, they gave this bit of information. I don't know if it is true or not. The guy on the air got the info from a woman DR. (not MD, a college type). If he said what branch or branches of law enforcement it involved I didn't hear it. Also I don't know if it is all over the country or just in Florida.

And now the rest of the story.

This lady was involved in a minor fender bender and the investigating officer made a strange statement (the guy on the radio figured he was a rookie) He said they weren't required to cite in these situations but they usually do.

So the good doctor got to thinking, why write a ticket if it insn't a requirement.

She started digging and this is what she found. When a citation is given your insurance rates go up. On this increase there is an .0875 TAX ( tax is the term he used) and that is put into the pension fund.

For 2005 the amount was between 600 and 700 thousand dollars so it isn't chump change, exactly.

There is a limit to the amount the insurance company can give the fund so any amount over that limit is used to reduce the amount of contirbution the trooper (or whoever) has to pay.

Is it true? As I said above, I don't know, but if you hear in on the radio or read it in the newspaper, it must be true.

Consider this thread dead.

TigerBill

[longtimefirsttime]

That would be a kickback. Wouldn't that be illegal? I don't claim to know the working of insurance companies but I would say that's highly unlikely. To my knowledge a troopers pension is affected only by their years of service, their contributions into the system and the overall solvency of that system.

[longtimefirsttime]

As far as the minor fender bender, the officer was correct in stating that a citation is not always issued. Typically a citation would not be issued if this minor fender bender occurred on private property. Often in the case of minor accidents, the drivers have exchanged info before the officers have arrived on scene and have agreed to handle it themselves. And sometimes, even on public property, you get conflicting statements (One driver swears the light was red. The other swears it was green. There are no other witnesses.) so no cite can be issued.