cop mentality ...

[rh71]

Last night I was driving behind a police cruiser who didn't look like he was in a hurry to be anywhere so I stayed back, doing the limit. We came to a red light... he was in the left turn lane (first car) and I was going to continue straight...

Anyway, while waiting for this long-a$$ red light to turn green... we've got nothing to do but watch cars going perpendicular to us on a pretty big road.

2 obvious speeders (one a sportbike zooming by us at at least 65mph on a 40mph road), and 1 car across the way (waiting for their turn arrow) completely without headlights.

Surely he could've tried to bust one of them... come on... do they just do it when they're "setup" to do it and not when they're just cruising around ?

 

[Gibsons]

They wait till the end of the month to fill their ticket quota. Everyone procrastinates. 😛

 

[BriGy86]

i've often wondered that myself, like if you're pulled over are there things that you say that may or may not get you a ticket?

like saying that you pay the cops salary is somthing that is gonna get you a ticket

but if you explain the situation and ask for a warning just that once, would they let it slide?

 

[FoBoT]

maybe he was headed back to the station to do paperwork before the end of his shift and didn't want to mess up his schedule

 

[BriGy86]

Originally posted by: Gibsons
They wait till the end of the month to fill their ticket quota. Everyone procrastinates. 😛

i've actaully heard this a lot, at the end of the month is when they'll camp out to catch people, so watch it

 

[rh71]

^ anyone know any cops ?

 

[KarenMarie]

depends on what day of the month it is and if they have met their quota.

if it is getting close to the end, they will bust anyone for anything to make it. also, in the beginning of the month, they do the same to try to get the quota out of the way early. middle of the month, they mostly couldnt give a toss about much.

🙂

 

He could have been headed to a low-priority call (a animal disturbance, a non-injury traffic accident or one of many other scenarios) and didn't have time to pull the vehicles over. Cops don't stop working when their reds and blues are off. 😛

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: rh71
^ anyone know any cops ?

Officially, there is no quota, and there cannot be a quota (they cannot legally have a quota).

Off the record, it is a very real occurence.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: BriGy86

Originally posted by: Gibsons
They wait till the end of the month to fill their ticket quota. Everyone procrastinates. 😛

i've actaully heard this a lot, at the end of the month is when they'll camp out to catch people, so watch it

It's a wives tale. There are no quotas.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: rh71
^ anyone know any cops ?

Yes.

 

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
depends on what day of the month it is and if they have met their quota.

if it is getting close to the end, they will bust anyone for anything to make it. also, in the beginning of the month, they do the same to try to get the quota out of the way early. middle of the month, they mostly couldnt give a toss about much.

🙂

BTW, QUOTAS ARE COMPLETELY NONEXISTENT at the police department I work at. There are specific enforcement periods (Click-it-or-Ticket, speed enforcement detail, etc.) but those are set up by command personnel.

The department wants its officers to be 'productive' and 'proactive' in writing traffic tickets, but there is NO QUOTA for patrol personnel. There are some officers in the department who write 15 tickets a night, and some who write 2 tickets a month.

That is one of my biggest pet peeves about police misconceptions. Maybe it happens in other areas of the nation, but I have firsthand knowledge and I can definitively state that there are NO QUOTAS.

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
depends on what day of the month it is and if they have met their quota.

if it is getting close to the end, they will bust anyone for anything to make it. also, in the beginning of the month, they do the same to try to get the quota out of the way early. middle of the month, they mostly couldnt give a toss about much.

🙂

BTW, QUOTAS ARE COMPLETELY NONEXISTENT at the police department I work at. There are specific enforcement periods (Click-it-or-Ticket, speed enforcement detail, etc.) but those are set up by command personnel.

The department wants its officers to be 'productive' and 'proactive' in writing speeding tickets, but there is NO QUOTA.

That is one of my biggest pet peeves about police misconceptions. Maybe it happens in other areas of the nation, but I have firsthand knowledge and I can definitively state that there are NO QUOTAS.

not officially there might not be... but the many cops I know are expected to make sure the town has enough money. And while there is not a set amount of money or number of tickets that need to be met... there is certain 'expectations' to make sure there is enuf $$$.

🙂

 

[rh71]

if I fly by a cop like the bike did, and the cruiser is just sitting there waiting for a light, would I practically be scot-free ? He obviously wouldn't have his radar gun out...

 

[shilala]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: rh71
^ anyone know any cops ?

Officially, there is no quota, and there cannot be a quota (they cannot legally have a quota).

Off the record, it is a very real occurence.

I know a few state troopers. They've all told me the same thing about quotas and speeding. There are none and "we don't give a fvck".
Speed traps are planned in the prior month. They get bumped when other more pressing issues are at hand that require manpower.
There's not a cop in the world that wants to risk his life to write a traffic ticket.
That said, if you haven't written a fair amount of citations, then you're obviously not doing your job. Traffic tickets are a quick, easy, low paperwork way to make yourself look good on paper.

 

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
not officially there might not be... but the many cops I know are expected to make sure the town has enough money. And while there is not a set amount of money or number of tickets that need to be met... there is certain 'expectations' to make sure there is enuf $$$.

🙂

So? What's wrong with a police department wanting its officers to perform traffic enforcement? Part of the police department's mission is to enforce the law and protect citizens. Traffic enforcement accomplishes both of those goals and also brings in money for the city.

You wouldn't want the police responding to a domestic disturbance in a backfiring, 14-year-old Chevy Caprice with peeling graphics and a fading radio, would you? I didn't think so.

Traffic fines go directly back to the department to pay for equipment, training and resources (such as K-9 units - which run into the tens of thousands of dollars, plus equipment to accomodate them - and more effective drug detection devices).

 

[imthebadguy]

cops are idiots. end of story, i have huge rant which i may type later for i am watching apprentice now 🙂

 

Originally posted by: rh71
if I fly by a cop like the bike did, and the cruiser is just sitting there waiting for a light, would I practically be scot-free ? He obviously wouldn't have his radar gun out...

There are no radar "guns." Police cars generally have dash-mounted radar units which can be turned on or off at the press of a button (and the officers I know use it in 'pulse' mode, which turns it on for a split second to detect speed and then turns it off again, to deter radar detectors).

They are on whenever the car is on.

 

[bradruth]

Originally posted by: Gibsons
They wait till the end of the month to fill their ticket quota. Everyone procrastinates. 😛

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
depends on what day of the month it is and if they have met their quota.

if it is getting close to the end, they will bust anyone for anything to make it. also, in the beginning of the month, they do the same to try to get the quota out of the way early. middle of the month, they mostly couldnt give a toss about much.

🙂

Quotas are ILLEGAL. THEY DON'T EXIST.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: shilala

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: rh71
^ anyone know any cops ?

Officially, there is no quota, and there cannot be a quota (they cannot legally have a quota).

Off the record, it is a very real occurence.

I know a few state troopers. They've all told me the same thing about quotas and speeding. There are none and "we don't give a fvck".
Speed traps are planned in the prior month. They get bumped when other more pressing issues are at hand that require manpower.
There's not a cop in the world that wants to risk his life to write a traffic ticket.

That said, if you haven't written a fair amount of citations, then you're obviously not doing your job. Traffic tickets are a quick, easy, low paperwork way to make yourself look good on paper.

And thats what I mean by "quota." It's not departamental wide, and could be limited to just 2 or 3 officers, but usually there will be the stragglers that need to write out a few more citations just so they don't look like they're slacking, or want to go above and beyond and really crank them out. And this is usually at the end of the month. Hence why people think of it as a "quota."

 

[bradruth]

Originally posted by: imthebadguy
cops are idiots. end of story, i have huge rant which i may type later for i am watching apprentice now 🙂

Civilians are idiots. End of story.



How's that feel? Moron.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: rh71
if I fly by a cop like the bike did, and the cruiser is just sitting there waiting for a light, would I practically be scot-free ? He obviously wouldn't have his radar gun out...

There are no radar "guns." Police cars generally have dash-mounted radar units which can be turned on or off at the press of a button (and the officers I know use it in 'pulse' mode, which turns it on for a split second to detect speed and then turns it off again, to deter radar detectors.

They are on whenever the car is on.

What are the things that look like megaphones then ? I see those being used on the highways here. They're pointing at us with it.

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is... if I see a cruiser waiting at a light and I zoom by, he wouldn't have anything on me, right ? He can't just come after me because he "thinks" I was speeding...

 

Originally posted by: BigJ
And thats what I mean by "quota." It's not departamental wide, and could be limited to just 2 or 3 officers, but usually there will be the stragglers that need to write out a few more citations just so they don't look like they're slacking, or want to go above and beyond and really crank them out. And this is usually at the end of the month. Hence why people think of it as a "quota."

Quota implies 'specific number.' There is no quota, because there's no guaranteed number of traffic violations in a city in a given month.

What you're describing is productivity. There's nothing wrong with an officer doing his or her job, and writing a few more tickets to 'catch up' is perfectly within the bounds of their jobs (and the law).

Once again: QUOTAS are nonexistent.

 

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: rh71
if I fly by a cop like the bike did, and the cruiser is just sitting there waiting for a light, would I practically be scot-free ? He obviously wouldn't have his radar gun out...

There are no radar "guns." Police cars generally have dash-mounted radar units which can be turned on or off at the press of a button (and the officers I know use it in 'pulse' mode, which turns it on for a split second to detect speed and then turns it off again, to deter radar detectors.

They are on whenever the car is on.

What are the things that look like megaphones then ? I see those being used on the highways here. They're pointing at us with it.

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is... if I see a cruiser waiting at a light and I zoom by, he wouldn't have anything on me, right ? He can't just come after me because he "thinks" I was speeding...

He sure can...if his radar unit is active, then he can come after you when the speed reading pops up on his display. Or, he can 'pace' you and judge your speed by looking at his (calibrated) speedo.

 

[bradruth]

Originally posted by: rh71
What are the things that look like megaphones then ? I see those being used on the highways here. They're pointing at us with it.

Those are laser, not radar.