Police higher-ups are pressuring state troopers to issue speeding tickets instead of warnings in an effort to counteract budget cuts.
Posted on 11/16/2006 5:24:50 AM PST by PajamaTruthMafia
State police brass are pressuring troopers to dole out speeding tickets instead of warnings in a cash-grabbing mandate cops say is the closest the department has ever come to setting quotas.
The pilot program, designed to monitor troopers’ daily activities, lays out a new system that rewards troopers if they give out a ticket as opposed to a verbal or written warning.
Under the program, troopers get no extra pay but are credited with 1.5 hours on their daily time sheet for writing a ticket, one hour for a written warning and just a half-hour for a verbal warning. All of those activities previously had counted for one hour each in accounting for their workweek and justifying overtime.
The program, which top brass concedes is a work in progress, has already been challenged by the troopers’ union lawyer.
“They have provided these guys an incentive to write tickets and a disincentive to give warnings,” said a union source. “They should have discretion.”
The program, which is in place in barracks in Western Massachusetts and the South Shore, comes as the state faces a budget crunch that has prompted Gov. Mitt Romney to make sweeping cuts to social service programs.
Troopers interviewed by the Herald said the number of citations has been down in recent years, which has led to pressure from the courts and the insurance industry, both of which profit from civil fines.
In a statement, state police Lt. Sharon Costine denied the program encourages more tickets, saying it was designed “to ensure we are deploying the most appropriate resources within the Department.”
“As the principal statewide law enforcement agency, it is important for us to be aware of what types of calls for service and assistance our Department is providing,” the statement reads. “The public’s safety is the Department’s main concern, not increasing the number of citations issued or increased fines.”
But troopers say the system is a veiled attempt at setting ticket-writing quotas, which are banned under state law. Union officials said troopers in Western Massachusetts have been told they could face sanctions for not meeting the new guidelines, including suspension or being forced to have a sergeant ride with them.
One trooper who requested anonymity blasted the policy, saying he often gives verbal warnings rather than slap a motorist with a ticket that could ultimately cost more than $600, including insurance charges.
“I absolutely refuse to write tickets unless somebody really deserves it,” the trooper said. “You think twice before you take $600 out of somebody’s pocket.”
Another trooper said the policy flies in the face of academy training where recruits are taught not to “nickle and dime” the public.
“In the troopers’ opinion, (the policy) was changed to encourage troopers to write civil infractions instead of written or verbal warnings,” he said. “Troopers have a real problem with this.”
Police higher-ups are pressuring state troopers to issue speeding tickets instead of warnings in an effort to counteract budget cuts.
The politicians want to put a stop to that foolishness.
What does 1.5 hours on the time sheet mean. Does that man you write a ticket and you get annual leave?
Write 6 tickets and get the day off?
What kind of crap is that?
Dont these cops get paid? If they get paid that is reward enopugh for doing their job. Giving Bonus's for writing tickets is BS.
I suppose if a Paramedic taks someone to a hospital they get 1.5 hours off too?
ping
Laws are for little people, and republicans.
As a former COP, my question exactly. Doesn't this fall into "taking gratuities"?Time jam the courts up with pleas of not guilty.
It sounds like they have a micromanagement system that requires the troopers to account for every minute of their work day.
That can't be write - can it?
And remember, it is not a quota.
Sounds like my department. They got after us for not writing enough tickets.
Don't blame the cops, this comes from higher ups. And the article says "pressure from insurance companies."
The insurance racket has a big hand in politics and traffic enforcement.
I used to write auto insurance policies in Massachusetts as an agent. Depending on where you live, a speeding ticket could cost you quite a bit more than $600 - potentially thousands of dollars in surcharges and lost good driver credits over a period of six years from the infraction. Of course, Massachusetts is the last state in the Union where the government sets auto insurance rates. Even New Jersey has gone to competitive rating. In the end, it's one big racket to protect state jobs and maintain a steady flow of campaign contributions from the few auto insurance companies that choose to remain in Mass.
LOL, I'm visiting Mass this week, staying with friends in Peabody.
I've been absolutely flabbergasted at the number of State Troopers that are used as flagmen at highway construction work zones.
Back home in NC, that task is usually accomplished by a Mexican with an orange vest. Our Mexicans might look cute in the riding boots and jodhpurs though.
It could also mean that if you work your normal day, those 6 tickets produce 9 hours of overtime.
That would be downright scary to think that a cop knows that he could get, what, 1.5 hours x $30/hr * 1.5 (overtime multiplier) = $68 every time he decides to pull somebody over.
Its Massachusetts. Scary place. One thing is, I dont have to worry about it, I avoid the place like it has plague.
What a great state!
I think you're right. It's possible to cut through the BS in that article and come to some kind of understanding of the situation. The state is trimming their budget and so they're asking each agency to justify their spending. The State Police need to justify why they have so many employees, so they came up with a quick and dirty way to account for the time spent on various activities by the troopers. Does it really take 90 minutes to issue a traffic citation? No. But if it keeps that trooper from standing in line at the unemployment office then maybe it's okay.
As usual, the leftie MSM blows it all out of proportion and comes to the wrong conclusion. "Quotas! QUOTAS!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!!" LOL
State troopers used as flagmen...
In MA it is the law to have a trooper or policeman on any kind of road construction. Their union lobbied for it. Some guys make way over 100k a year in overtime.
BTW, in NC the Mexicans are cheaper and actually carry flags and warn people to slow down. In MA the trooper or policeman doesn't do that. He just has to be on site and can sit in his car.
1.5 hrs per cite is probably a little high. 1 hr is entirely understandable when you consider the time to write it, wait for the computer or dispatch to check for warrants or suspensions, issue the citation, then enter all the info again into a computer at the end of the shift and separate and route all the paper copies to their destination.
If they have a high incidence of drivers without licenses or insurance they are probably accounting for waiting at the scene for tow trucks too, along with writing the additional charges, and entering all that info in the computer later. That would push the average time way up.
In MA a few years ago there was a state trooper on the Mass Turnpike who offered quite a few women a choice: a ticket or no ticket if they took his special, how should I say it, Polish Breathalizer Test.
When the news first came out I overheard a lady in a coffee shop complaining loudly that he had stopped her a few months earlier and he didn't give her the option.
It's Massachusetts folks! Home of Deval who campaigned on the platform of raising taxes and won in a landslide.
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