Do traffic officers really have quotas?

Question

I've always heard around the end of the month don't speed they are looking to make their quota.

Any true input??

Answer 1

This is one of those things that never seems to die out.



Traffic Officers used to be evaluated on the number of traffic citations they write. This was about 20 years ago. But there is no minimum or maximum that they need to write anymore. They are allowed to write as many as they want or as few as they want. But I will tell you, from being a traffic homicide investigator/ traffic cop for 7 years in a large metropolitan area, there are no shortage of people that deserve tickets.



My personal best is 72 in one day. That was working a special red light detail in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, and there were 4 of use there and al wrote more than 50 tickets.



I would say an officer working in a city of any size could easily write 10-15 tickets a day without writing everyone they see. People are very shocked when they learn that they did not know about the laws as well as they thought. Plus people are in such a hurry these days, as well as distracted by cell phones, GPS’s, Video screens, Radio, conversations and more that its amazing they do not have more accidents than they do.



So in answer to your question, nope no quota’s, we can write as many as we want.

Answer 2

Ticket quotas are illegal, officers do not have a quota. The closest thing to a quota they might have is an "activity target". That could be hit by issuing tickets, giving out warnings, responding to calls for assistance, etc. Their boss wants to know they are doing something out there during their shift.



Another way an officer's activity is measured is community satisfaction. A lot of complaints about an officer would drive this down ... fast. Nitpicking tickets handed out near the end of each month would probably result in complaints by the public.



I have no personal knowledge of department procedures, I am not a police officer. I am a driver with 30 years experience on the roadways. I make an average number of driving mistakes throughout the month. In my experience I am no more likely (or for that matter less likely) to be pulled over near the end of the month than at any other time. Conclusion: If quotas existed the officers would be far less forgiving of my bad habits at the end of the month when they are trying to "make quota" and I should expect to receive more tickets at the end of the month.



Thirty times twelve is three hundred and sixty months of data ... suggests that officers are not more or less forgiving depending on what part of the month they are in. I could poll my family and friends, adding months of other driver's experience to the data ... the result would be the same. Good driver, lousy driver (have both in my family) ... warnings can happen at the end of the month, tickets can happen at the beginning of the month.



Sorry, the whole idea of officers having quotas is busted as far as I'm concerned.

Answer 3

They have to so many tickets, complaints filled and taken care of and arrests done in a month. I over heard 2 state troopers talking about the traffic ticket part in a gas station once. I know holidays are also a high quota time too. I once got a ticket for 2 miles over the speedlimit around a labor day! Sometimes they force you into speeding by tailgating and so on.



But yes just like any other job they do have goals and standards they have to meet. I know my led foot is gonna bite me but i tend ot speed to work all the time.

Answer 4

This may be an unpopular answer but from my experience......no they don't.



They don't get fired or suspended if they don't meet a quota.



My town does have a traffic division and they are always out. More in the good weather but always year round. They are stationed in key spots in the town that people always speed. People always drive too fast on this road, so they set up there.



I think they may have little competitions among themselves....I wrote 15 tickets today, I wrote 20.



But as for the department making them write a certain amount. No this is not true.



If we would all slow down a little, this wouldn't be a concern. Less accidents! Less surcharges!! We all know that this is the real problem. Paying the ticket is ok but the insurance......and the cities and towns don't get a dime from these surcharges.



It's a pity!



So slow down and enjoy the ride. Be careful out there.

Answer 5

The chief here in Nashville, Ronal Serpas quit and went to New Orleans because channel 4 did an investigation on how the police weren't responding to calls because they were out writing tickets and arresting people for DUI to fill quotas. The chief called it benchmarks and if the cops on the force didn't make the benchmark, they wouldn't get overtime or promotions. If he was doing it then other people were doing it. They can call it a benchmark or activity target, but it's still a quota.

Answer 6

that is an city legend that police officials have quotas. It hasn't ever been shown and no officer has ever more advantageous to assert that his station has a quota for officials. regularly you listen it from disgruntled individual who gained a cost ticket and he will whinge the officer "could were attempting to get his quota" that means that the violator couldn't probably have executed some thing incorrect. after I ran a shift I had officials who were fascinated in criminal artwork and they locked up multiple human beings and in easy words wrote 5 tickets a month because they were continually doing investigations, writing search for warrants, in court, and attesting formerly the grand jury. on the different hand I had officials who were site visitors oriented and wrote multiple tickets.

Answer 7

When there's a little too much unsolved crime going on, YES indeed, the Sgt. will "crack the whip" and tell the patrolmen to get out there & make it look like they're at least doing something. //// It's not a monthly quota , per se, but rather a "show of force" quota. And every cop knows this is true at roll call. ///// Those saying these orders don't take place are not real cops, just wanna - bes,.

Answer 8

There are unofficial quotas, "show more effort, write more tickets!" kind of sh*t.



I hated working traffic and always found a way to put the blame where it belonged. For instance me speeding tolerance limit was 15 over as a rule. I would start stopping for 10 over and tell the driver that I normally wouldn't have written that ticket but the patrol captain was really on us.



I wouldn't recommend that for everybody, but in my case it worked.

Answer 9

Although I may be jumping the gun a tad, the $375 speeding ticket I received for exceeding the limit by (O.K. I’m Canadian) 20 Kilometres per hour was a bit harsh. I’d never received a ticket before in my life and had a meticulous driving record. Then some ’rookie’ (he himself alluded to this fact!) cop hands me this ticket plus a deduction of three demerit points for my offence! To say I was dumbfounded would be an understatement. I did, however, ’take it on the chin’, without incidence and paid the ticket.

The date of the infraction was October 30/2003. So, your guess is as good as mine. I’m surmising though, that the coincidences were all too ’coincidental’!

Answer 10

NO there are no quotas, not 1 department has them, mostly because they make no sense, all officers would do is get their quotas filled in the beginning of the month and then not enforce any traffic laws at all the rest of the month.



HOWEVER, officers who are slacking or feeling pressure from their superiors to show more effort in traffic enforcement will usually be advised of this at the end of the month... In other words if an officer has been slacking and knows it he will try to make up for it at the end of the statistical submission (could be weekly, monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly).

Answer 11

Back in the 60's, we were told to write a book of 25 tickets a month, not mandated, but; it was not hard to do a book a week, within some areas of the inner and city limits (100,000).

Now out in the country with 100 people every 30 to 40 miles apart, luck to write a cow up for crossing the road illegally.

Answer 12

There are expectations based upon statistics, and there will be questions asked if they give too many or too few tickets. Consistently falling behind your expectation can be the basis of an investigation of what you are doing, and why your production is radically different than expectation.

Answer 13

No quotas, I can write as few or many as I want.

Answer 14

Quotas have been ruled to be illegal in every court case where they have come up.

Answer 15

No, that is not true. Police do not have quotas.

Answer 16

no they don't have a quota