Cop Ticket Quotas...

convex

Banned
May 24, 2000
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Why do cops have ticket quotas.... hmm... if a cop doesn't write enough tickets, he's reprimanded...what kind of bs is that?
 

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No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
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Well I guess it means he wasn't trying hard enough. Afterall plenty of people speed and dont' get caught...it can't be that hard racking up a couple hundred tickets a month :)
 

ultravox

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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As told to me by a cop.....there are no real quotas per se but there are statistics.......x amount of speeding/ per month. If Cop X works Y amount of hrs during the month, he should be writing Z amount of tickets in that month otherwise he's not doing his job.
 

skywhr

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2000
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< Afterall plenty of people speed and dont' get caught...it can't be that hard racking up a couple>

This is so true yet I get a ticket for having tinted plate covers while driving the speed limit wearing my seatbelt!
 

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No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
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sky Those are easy to identify though...its easier for a cop to give a ticket over than than like 58 in a 50 :)
 

Cable God

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2000
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I heard somewhere that they do have a type of quota, I think that's wrong. Pressuring someone to give out tickets....
 

skywhr

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2000
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skoorb then why is it the ticket was dropped in court. The thing that pisses me off is I live in a city where they are legal, they werent obscurring the plate and I was on my way to work when he pulled me over because they were illegal in this city! i asked him why they are for sale if they are illegal? response &quot;I dont know&quot;

I understand if I were going 55 in a 30 and he pulled me for speeding and said oh and your plate covers are illegal too, then gave me 2 tickets or warned me about the plate covers

You never hear of someone being puled for minor sh*t like that, its always an extra ticket after they are pulled for a &quot;real&quot; offense
 

Ulfwald

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
May 27, 2000
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I once tried that smart@ss comment to a cop &quot;You are trying to make your quota aren't you&quot; His response &quot;No sir, we don't have quotas, we were told to write as many as we want.&quot; He then proceded to inspect my car from top to bottom bumper to bumper. I then decided to do what my dad said to do from then on. Look straight ahead, keep both hands on the wheel, and give short yes and no answers until I found out what is going on. Plus, be REAL respectful of officers. I have either gotten out of some tickets, or the officer reduced it so i would not have it reflect on my insurance.
 

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No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
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I have been pulled over twice. Once when i was 16 in a minivan going 65km in a 50. I took a corner fast, cop followed (didn't know he was a cop - he was in a van). I was in a 50 zone speeding up and we were just about to hit an 80 and I was going to gun it for a little van vs. van race. It was night; his lights went on and I realized there would be no racing for me that night. I told him I had to be home by midnight (it was 12:05), he gave a warning. I was nice and called him officer.

Couple years back I had a full load of gear in the car with no home to see out the back and I was pulled over. Clearly I was illegally overloaded but I said I was coming back from university and he said have a safe trip. Although being a smart ass to a cop can make you feel a bit better about it if you ant to do your best to avoid getting a ticket you should be as absolutely cordial as you can be.

My brother got his second speeding ticket when he was 17, lost his license and he said he knew he'd get it so he was not very nice to the cop and didn't even bother turnig his music off.
 

Wangel

Banned
Mar 30, 2000
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The quote system has been eliminated in most all states. They just don't call it a quota system. What if a traffic officer came back at the end of his shift with not one ticket written. What would his sergaent say? Also, merit pay and promotions are based on the amount of tickets that are written. How do you think they compare the performance from one officer to another. (You certainly can't ask their wife, the divorce rate for police officers is about 90%)!
 

jtshaw

Member
Nov 27, 2000
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Respect for officers is a good thing. I got pulled over for doing 89 in a 55 at age 19 in Atlanta, GA. (good thing he didn't catch me a mile earlier...first day with a new car:p) For those of you not in the GA area, if you are caught going 24 over and are under 21 year old you lose your license for a min. of 6-months. The officer new this and when I appoligized for my rediculous speed and was more the cooperative he gave me the ticket............for 69 in 55:) That inacted another law in GA...if you are going under 15 over your insurance doesn't get effected at all:) So I went from being in a license loss situation to paying a $109 fine and not even having my insurance rates go up..be polite, you might get a break too.
 

Doggiedog

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
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Being courteous is so true. One time I was in my friend's car going 85 in a 50 around 11PM and got pulled over. My friend kept apologizing to the officer and told him he was going 85. The cop asked him why he was speeding and told him we had an urge for Friendly's ice cream (which was the truth). He laughed and said get him some next time and let us go.

 

convex

Banned
May 24, 2000
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i personally have been nothing but courteous everytime...dicked every single time... my last ticket was on post during an inspection at the gate (search your car, ask for id, etc.) and i didn't have current insurance on me. he told me there was no need to write me a ticket if i can come up with verification before the evening was over. called my mom at about 1 in the morning from a circlek off base (wasn't allowed to leave in my truck) and had her bring insurance out to me..then the asshole writes me a ticket for failure to carry insurance while on federal property.. now i kind of wish i was a dick to him... of course the prosecutor on base is a really good friend of my dads, i'll have no problem getting the ticket dropped, but that's not the point. some cops are just ticket happy writing dicks. no grey area sucks...then again without quotas, how is a city supposed to get it's money out of the cops it hires?
 

Rogue

Banned
Jan 28, 2000
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Being an MP I know that my installation does not have quotas. However, I have worked with other MP's who will sign their name on ten tickets during our patrol briefing and make sure that they write ten tickets during their shift. Even better is when they have contests among themselves to see who can write the most in a shift. I am not like that. I will pull someone over, but I consider the time and &quot;OH $hit!&quot; factor to be more than enough punishment 9 times out of 10.
 

mosdef

Banned
May 14, 2000
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Another plug for being nice! I was very apologetic and cordial to the officer who pulled me over doing 57 in a 35 so he took it down to 44.

-mosdef
 

ratkil

Platinum Member
Jan 12, 2000
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I have always gotten a kick out of people arguing with a cop. &quot;uh, gee sir, I am terribly sorry, I must have made a mistake pulling you over, please carry on and have a nice day.....&quot; Kind of like arguing with a Ref, what's the point? :)
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
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Yeah its like kids arguing with the liqour store clerk &quot;Look, I don't have my ID here but...&quot;blahblahblah or the bouncer in the bar. Some people are thicker than a brick.
 

Daniel

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
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Yes I've been pulled over a few times, always be nice I mean it's really your only chance. And unless it's a totally whacky excuse try to be honest with them, seems to work. Two times I got pulled over speeding but I just got off a 16 hour work shift with no break and I just told him that and I was just really exhausted so I really wasn't paying enough attention as I should have been and I apologized. He let me off with a warning and told me to be careful going home and get some sleep I looked like a mess.
 

perry

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2000
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After a couple of friends had recent run ins with a cop, I don't believe they have quotas.

One was street racing out in the boonies when a cop showed up. He said, &quot;I used to have a souped up Mustang and do the same thing all the time. Why don't ya'll go to someplace a little further out where you don't have to turn around in people's driveways? We've been getting complaints.&quot; He then sent about 10 of them on their merry ways.

Second was a different guy going 120 in a 45. Cop pulled him over and said, &quot;Boy, I don't know what to do with you. I should take you to jail. But, I don't know why I'm gunna do this, but I'll let you go. Just slow down.&quot;

Of course, the one time I've been pulled over <knock on wood>, I had to get a ticket. I turned the dome light on, radio off, both hands on the wheel. Cop asked for registration, I told him it was in the glove box before moving. He asked me how fast I was going, I said about 70. He said close, 72 (in a 55). He asked why I was going so fast, I said &quot;No excuse sir.&quot; Welp, here's your ticket, slow it down a little.
 

Demon-Xanth

Lifer
Feb 15, 2000
20,551
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State gov's get money from tickets, if the state doesn't get the money that they got in 19xx then the money must come from local taxes. Kinda f'ed up if you ask me.
 

Raspewtin

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 1999
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Yeah, I think nearly all cops have quotas no matter what they call them, just as they all have speed traps regardless of how they deny it. It's probably about raising enough income via fines.




<< Plus, be REAL respectful of officers. >>



Surpringly this works. I've gotten out every non-parking ticket via this method. It seems like officers are desperate for respect. That's probably b/c most don't deserve any respect IMO. I personally hate cops (mostly b/c I've encountered so many racist cops it's amazing), and I'm a bad actor as well, so pretending to be respectful to an officer is a huge pain, but better than traffic school, fines, and points on the liscense. Who I really have respect for is for certain minorities driving nice cars that belong to them that are constantly harassed by racist cops. It's rediculous what some have to go through.
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Ticket quota are illegal in Minnesota. Not that it's stopped them. :| The Highway Patrol was being investigated not long ago for having implied quotas.
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
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I've had three run-ins with cops, one good &amp; two bad.

Incident #1 (October '99): Pulled over for speeding. 75 - 80 in a 55.
Result: Nothing official, cop had my parents call him.

Incident #2 (December 10th, 1999): Cops showed up at an accident, I rear-ended somebody in the rain &amp; fog.
Result: $480 ticket for careless driving contributing to an accident. Thing that really pissed me off is I was going between 5 &amp; 10 mph under the speed limit, &amp; still got a damned ticket. Ticket was dismissed after traffic school &amp; six months of no further incidents.

Incident #3 (November 20th of this year): Pulled over for speeding. 72 in a 55. Me &amp; a Mercedes SUV side by side... I got nailed for $109. Don't know yet if the ticket will stick, court date's the 13th of next month.

Viper GTS