Are you saying that the police departments get the fines? Where is this the case? Can you direct me to some sources for this information?
Further, if the guy you are discussing is a habitual offender and the state has no habitual offender laws, if the guy is repeatedly arrested, convicted, and turned loose to drive drunk again, how is that the fault of the police? They don't write the laws, they don't pronounce the sentences.
Exactly. If any here think cops will go out to "collect revenue" for their city, county, or state, you miss the mark by a mile. If the money was going in the officer's pocket, even indirectly, I could understand the argument. But governments at every level use money from fines for everything but law enforcement.
As far as the .08 laws are concerned, here in NC that is just the presumptive level. The law actually states you have committed the offense of driving while impaired if you drive a vehicle on a street, highway, or public vehicular area with your mental and/or physical faculties impaired by an impairing substance OR have an AC of .08 or more.
Many studies have shown that impairment begins in the .04 range. The point where most rational people wouldn't even think of driving is around .06, in my experience (I have access to a portable breath testing device). The reason so many cops are gung ho about removing impaired drivers from the roads is because they see the daily carnage they cause.
Spend a weekend in an emergency room sometime. You quickly tire of the smell of alcohol on drivers' breath...
This is the case in most small towns in Delaware. One town was so notorious for their speedtraps and roadblocks on the highway that Legislation was passed to limit their revenue raising ability by forbidding them to do traffic enforcement on the highway. The Police Force in that town was cut in half because without the traffic enforcement revenue there wasn't enough money to pay for the cops.
While this has nothing to do with this thread, you might find it interesting...
The State of Missouri sued the Kansas City, MO Police Department... Over funds and property confiscated from drug busts.
The State of Missouri has a law that any property confiscated by state or local law enforcement during a drug bust goes into a state fund. However, the federal government has a program that if they do the bust, assisted by local law enforcement, then the feds and the local LE share "the booty." Well, when the KCPD realized just how much they were missing out on, they would do all the investigations, but at the last minute, they'd call in the feds for the actual bust. That way they got to keep 1/2 of the property siezed. When the state realized what they were doing, they sued the KCPD in state court. I believe that the KCPD had to give what they had "earned" with the feds to the state, because they were in violation of the law!
Mark
they might not get all of the money, but they get a sizable portion of it...sorry, i can't give u a url, so i guess you think i'm just a redneck that don't no nuthin...BS the cops nowadays are little shaved head nazi punks that are dying to shoot someone.
I told one of 'em the other day, "if you really like jacking with someone for slightly more than minimu wage, get a job at the return counter at wall-mart!!!!!!!!!
don't tell me i am a cop hater...was one for many years...these lil para military wannabees are not cops and never will be.