Desperate troopers with tickets

conair with nickolas cage is fun movie.

 

Now I GET it..

 

Yep. Sometimes I just ask too #### many questions.

 

A tomgirl REJECT. That would be the opposite of a tomboy, I think. Well. Someone slap me, but what's the deal? And that was an hispanic guy?

 

whoa, hold it, did I miss something, SWIFT trucks have been turned up? coulda fooled me

 

I've never written this until now.

When I was a city Patrolman in Texas, the Department we worked for had a one misdemeanor-per-day quota. It was called the "We don't have a quota, but..." At every shift change, we were reminded who was ahead and behind in the "We don't have a quota".

If you failed to produce an average of one misdemeanor citation per work shift, or arrest and one felony arrest a month (average), you were dead meat. If you were behind, you had to stand at attention on a chair at the table, at shift change, in front of your peers and explain why you screwed up. Your speech always started with the words "I screwed up". Your humiliating speech ended with a promise to be professional and meet the minimum standards set by the Squad Sergeant.

Now, I worked in the Patrol Division. The Traffic Division had a different set of responsibilities altogether. Their quota for misdemeanor citations was thirty a day (averaged over the month). But- they also had to work accidents and escort weddings AND funerals. Wedding and Funeral escorts were a full time job by themselves.

So, at the end of the month the traffic division was WAY behind in the "Non-Quota".

One summer day, I was redirected from patrol to the traffic division. If I remember, it was the 27th of the month, just short of the start of the next month on the calendar.

The shift started at 06:00, and by 06:30, I was riding with a 25 year veteran parked on the shoulder of the highway on the bypass-way out on the edge of town. By 06:38 we had clocked a speeder at 78 MPH in a 55 zone, wrote him a ticket (a well known owner of a local jewelry store) and let him go. The Officer I was assigned to said "Here's where the fun begins".

Just a couple of minutes after 07:00, we chased down a car that looked like it was probably speeding. Truthfully, he was. I was told to watch and listen carefully. So I stood outside the passenger's side of his car and listened to the argument that started when the senior Officer accused him of driving 78 MPH in a 55 MPH zone. The angry driver screamed "The H#LL I WAS DOING 78, I WAS DOING 65 AND YOU KNOW IT !!

Well, 65 MPH or 78 MPH, it was over the 55 MPH limit. This older officer had a lot of experience, he would always drop the speed for the citations to anything from sixty to sixty-five MPH, and carefully note on the back of the form what speed the driver had claimed to be REALLY travelling. (Always above 55 MPH).

So, at the end of the shift we had almost caught up with his Non-Quota. We had a fistful of speeding citations, and still had "78 MPH " blinking in red letters on the screen of the radar unit. I got a slap on the back and a "Thanks" for helping out.

So, driver beware- more than once I've been pulled over and accused of speeding in my truck at a speed that is higher than the truck was governed for, then politely related this story to the friendly Policeperson. Only once did I have to mention that it would be a good idea to contact every person that a ticket was issued to on that date and see if they had a similar story to tell.

Twenty two years of driving, and so far (Knock on wood), no speeding tickets in a truck.

 

I knew it!!! Everybody thought I was crazy. "Cops don't have quotas" they would say. "You're a conspiracy nut" they would say. Well, well, well I'll bet they'll pay attention to my blue tooth conspiracy now.

 

It's the "Non- Quota" or the "We don't have a Quota", or the "Quota that doesn't exist". So, in traffic court, officers won't be lying if they are asked if they have a quota. They will state "We do not have a quota", but they DO have a "Quota that doesn't exist", or a "Non Quota". It's a play on words, but it is NOT a lie in a courtroom. Technically.

 

Pure horse crap. There is no quota. They can write as many as they want...

It is never called a quota, it is known as "stats." And if a department uses them, (I only worked for one that did, the others had the attitude, "just do your job and the stats will take care of themselves,) they are usually a bit more subtle about it.

The thing is, that each department has their own way of doing things. And some of them are not above "bending" things a bit. It is sad, but true...