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“The budget is poor in every municipality,” one told CLIFFVIEWPILOT, “and I think most officers are smart enough to know that even if we did attempt to write more tickets to help the budget out, the police department likely wouldn’t see any of it.”
“Police are not in the money business,” a colleague in blue added. “Sometimes people forget this.”
Records show ticket revenue has actually fallen the past year — quite the opposite of the new urban legend. There are practical reasons.
“The more tickets you write equal more shift changes….more court clerks…more court days,” a Central Jersey officer explained. “Also, more tickets with a low budget sends the message that you can be productive with less manpower….In the end this leads to officers [who] are overworked, which also leads to poor performance, low moral, and increased sick time.”
In some suburban towns, traffic enforcement is effectively proactive. Anyone with bad intentions realizes they’d be better off somewhere else. At the same time, those details — unless they’re specially funded by the government — can suck the minimal resources that many departments need to deal with crime at large.
“Many departments are already short-handed, through retirements or layoffs,” an officer told CLIFFVIEWPILOT. “I know in my agency our call volume increased significantly last year. As a result of that, along with being short-handed, we simply don’t have the time to dedicate to traffic enforcement like we used to.
“I can best sarcastically describe traffic enforcement as a ‘hobby,’ meaning that it’s done when you have nothing else more important to do,” he added. “Many places don’t have time for hobbies right now.”
As mentioned earlier, the revenue generated from summonses don’t benefit any of New Jersey’s police agencies. The fine money goes to Trenton and the court costs go to the municipality’s general treasury.
“The percentage of revenue that an agency receives from a citation is such a small part of the fine that it is not a viable source of funding,” a ranking officer said. “The base fine for a speeding ticket is $35, so you do the math.
“We give tickets to correct behavior, not make money.”
Still, more than one officer admitted having worked for town fathers who considered it a good idea to try and use their departments to generate revenue.
“Is it illegal or unethical?” one cop asked. “Only if the stops are not valid violations I would guess…. Call it a speed tax.
“If you don’t think it’s right to be ticketed for 5 over, tell your legislators to change the law.”
The consensus on the supposed practice: Drivers shouldn’t race to conclusions without hard facts to back them up.
“How many times do you see somebody doing something really crazy behind the wheel where you say to yourself: I wish there was a cop around to see this guy?” one cop said, bluntly. “Well I am that cop that you wish for and I/we have the ability to do something about it.
“My approach to traffic enforcement is not an attitude check or to fill a quota,” he said. “If I stop you for 50 in a 25, you better have a pregnant girl in the car and on your on the way to the hospital, because there is simply no reason to be driving twice the speed limit.”
Beneath the bravado, a lot of officers are working stiffs. They have to live in this society, too.
“I can honestly say that we have not had any pressure to write more summonses in my department,” a Central Jersey patrol officer said. “In this economy, I personally try to give people the benefit of the doubt — unless I work an overtime traffic detail.
“Actually, I think that today’s economy makes officers more sympathetic to the plight of the American ‘worker’ and that would result in more verbal or written warnings being issued.”
That sentiment was echoed in a heartfelt message I received recently from an officer in South Dakota.
“I’m actually conscious to not overly hammer people for no reason, other than the initial reason for a traffic stop,” he wrote. “If anything, I’ll write just as many tickets but I may reduce the fines [for speeding] more often. But I’m not going to stop doing my job.”
Most cops, he added, “really do believe in enforcing the law for the better of society and not make a buck for the politicians to spend on their pet projects.
“As a cop, it’s my goal to get the public obey the law passively without me interrupting their lives and causing them financial anguish. Collectively, if we all obey the law we’re all safer and productive.”
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