Cops going undercover to nab... speeders?

[kapkomet]

I was just cracking a joke. Dude if you have a problem with me, do me a favor and leave me alone.

I never once said that.

 

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Does this thread need a warning too?

 

Stay on topic folks. If y'all can't get along, then don't post at each other.

 

[Texsox]

Not really what I said. Some departments, its irrelevant. Other departments, its looked at casually. Yet others, there is an actual quota or range. That final scenario is, in my experience, the rarity.

 

I have no problem with tickets, but I do have a problem with requiring certain numbers of them.

 

The point I was making, and I think we are agreeing, is a cop can't go out day after day and not write tickets. It's all part of his performance. If he isn't writing tickets, he better be conducting other "work". It would be hard to argue that writing tickets does not benefit the cop because it is a part of doing his job. It may be a monor thing, but it is still part of the job for some cops.

[DrunkBomber]

I'd say its both.

 

Just remember, the cop doesn't get that money from the ticket. Heck, even the police department itself gets little or no money out of it. The money goes to courts, or to state funds to be redistributed according to their whims.

True, but they do have quotas to meet. Im sure they could very easily ticket drivers all day. But say they are having a slow month and they decide they need to get some numbers so they just nab anybody.

 

A solution we talked about in a class of mine in school was possibly posting an officers ticketing and arrest record online for the public to view. Considering a regular person can drive around in a city and find drugs any time they want, Id like to think they focused on stiff of that nature more often.

[NorthSideSox72]

True, but they do have quotas to meet. Im sure they could very easily ticket drivers all day. But say they are having a slow month and they decide they need to get some numbers so they just nab anybody.

 

A solution we talked about in a class of mine in school was possibly posting an officers ticketing and arrest record online for the public to view. Considering a regular person can drive around in a city and find drugs any time they want, Id like to think they focused on stiff of that nature more often.

Again, SOME departments have quotas. Others do not.

 

I think an easier solution (and one less likely to put cops in danger) is to make sure departments are evaluating their officers on their real priorities. If you as an officer are assigned to the traffic unit, and your main goal is to cut down accidents on a specific stretch of road, then you SHOULD have a quota to meet or something similar. But to put that type of quota across the department is useless, unless your municipality is 100% free from all crimes other than traffic ordinance violations.

 

[santo=dorf]

Sun-Times has a great article on citations today. Basically they quote to the commanders of two different towns and their views on issuing tickets.

In geneva on 23% are issued a ticket for speeding. But in North Chicago 99.9% of the people pulled over were issued a citation.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Tossing this log on the campfire. My guess is the average citizen is more likely to be involved in a traffic accident than being robbed, assaulted, etc. So those people actively involved in public safety should spend time in the areas that would decrease the most likely threat to body and property. So aggressive enforcement of traffic laws make sense.

 

The undercover part seems silly and cost ineffective. Perhaps there is more to the story like a specific problem at a specific location?

 

 

Honestly, this whole deal begs the question: Don't these police departments have anything better to do than dress up a cop as a whino and hand him a radar gun?

[EvilMonkey]

It's all about the money.....

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/Home/De...mp;pageId=1.1.1

 

Woman Driving Self to Hospital Given $1,000 Traffic Fine

 

Last Edited: Sunday, 12 Aug 2007, 10:33 PM EDT

Created: Sunday, 12 Aug 2007, 9:33 PM EDT

 

Jessica Hodges was pulled over on July 3 for going 57mph in a 35 mph. She was speeding because she thought she was going into labor. She was speeding on her way to the hospital. SideBar

 

A woman from Burke is one of the first people to be slapped with Virginia's new abusive driver fees.

 

The controversial new fees are designed to raise money for state highway projects and crack down on the state's worst drivers, but Jessica Hodges says they're unconstitutional.

 

Hodges was pulled over on July 3 for going 57mph in a 35 mph. The ticket cost her $100, before court costs and a $1,050 civil fee.

 

The twist in Jessica's story is that she was speeding because she thought she was going into labor. She was speeding on her way to the hospital.

 

She didn't tell the officer about the pains at the time of the traffic stop because she didn't want to waste the time and figured she could challenge the ticket in court later.

 

The labor pains were false that day, but she delivered her baby girl Alessandra just two weeks later.

 

When she went before a judge, when Hodges said she wasn't admitted into the hospital, he let the fee stand. Hodges says she plans to appeal the fee.

 

The abusive driver fees range between $750 and $3,000 depending on the offense. More than 175,000 people have signed an online petition to repeal it.

 

 

Glad that isn't here. Yet.

[juddling]

Very loosely related funny story.....

 

A furious motorist who took a circular saw to a traffic camera was left even angrier when a court heard it had not caught him.

 

Richard Atkinson, 31, drove to a DIY store, bought the power tool and hacked off the camera after convincing himself he had been flashed for jumping a red light at a junction in January.

 

But yesterday Nottingham Crown Court heard he had not been snapped.

 

Atkinson, of Langley Mill, Derbys, admitted intending to pervert the course of justice and was jailed for eight weeks.

 

 

 

[DrunkBomber]

Just wait Illinois residents. Theyre gonna start sending you tickets in the mail if your average speed between ipass tolls is over the limit. Theyve also been subpoenaing Ipass records in high profile divorce cases.

[NorthSideSox72]

That piece about the "abusive" fines is really poor journalism, for one very important piece of missing information - what constitutes "abusive"? Is it repeat offenders? Or people going too far over the limit (like 20+ or something)? Unless I missed it, I don't see that mentioned. And by not mentioning it, they paint the picture like this cop was somehow evil in pulling her over (even though she never told him why she was speeding).

 

The reason its important is that, depending on what qualifies, I am actually OK with it. For example... if a person is a repeat offender, like let's say they get 3 or more tickets in a year or something like that... then I am 100% Ok with slapping them with big fines and maybe license suspensions. Why the fines? Because someone who tends to abuse the traffic laws repeatedly is most definitely a bigger cost to the state. They get in more accidents, they heighten risk for other drivers, they use more police time, etc. So in short, depending on the rules of "abusive", I am quite OK with this.

 

And as for the time between I-Pass points... some turnpikes already do that in other states.

 

[Steff]

Just wait Illinois residents. Theyre gonna start sending you tickets in the mail if your average speed between ipass tolls is over the limit. Theyve also been subpoenaing Ipass records in high profile divorce cases.

 

 

They've been doing both for years. The latter for anyone that requests them - not just "high profile" folks.

[NorthSideSox72]

Sun-Times has a great article on citations today. Basically they quote to the commanders of two different towns and their views on issuing tickets.

In geneva on 23% are issued a ticket for speeding. But in North Chicago 99.9% of the people pulled over were issued a citation.

Further illustrating as noted earlier - departments vary widely in their execution of citations.

 

[juddling]

It's all about the money.....

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/Home/De...mp;pageId=1.1.1

Glad that isn't here. Yet.

 

 

As far as money makers go, maybe Canada has it right....

 

Canada Introduces $10,000 Speeding Ticket

Ontario, Canada applies street racing penalties to motorists who are not racing anybody.

 

Ontario, Canada Premier Dalton McGuinty today announced that being caught driving 50km/h (31 MPH) over the speed limit will automatically trigger "street racing" penalties -- even if the accused motorist is driving alone on an otherwise empty road. The change in definition will, in effect, turn ordinary speeding into an offense that can carry a $10,000 (US $9305) fine and up to six months in jail, making it one of the most expensive traffic tickets in North America.

 

"If you choose to break the law, we consider you a threat to our public safety and you're going to face stiff penalties," McGuinty said in a statement.

 

In June, McGuinty cited the importance of combating the "organized crime" of street racing as he urged passage of the Safer Roads for a Safer Ontario Act which created the $10,000 penalty. The change in definition also means that the word of a police officer is all that it takes to confiscate a car and driver's license for at least seven days.

 

"There is no appeal from, or right to be heard before, a vehicle detention, driver's license suspension or vehicle impoundment under [the street racing] subsection," the Safer Roads Act states.

 

McGuinty also announced a proposal to hire 55 new traffic police officers and purchase a high-tech surveillance airplane in an attempt to rack up several of the expensive new fines

[StrangeSox]

It's all about the money.....

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/Home/De...mp;pageId=1.1.1

Glad that isn't here. Yet.

 

Similar story happened to my mom's friend. She was going up 55 back towards Chicago from central Illinois. She passed through a mile long "construction zone" that was nothing but two signs saying "construction starts" and "construction ends." She had severe stomach pains and just wanted to get home and maybe to the doctor. She was pulled over by the police and ticketed for speeding in a construction zone (10 or 15 over the limit). She did end up going to the doctor and needed emergency surgery to remove her appendix. They still wouldn't throw the ticket out and she was forced to pay $500.

[kapkomet]

Similar story happened to my mom's friend. She was going up 55 back towards Chicago from central Illinois. She passed through a mile long "construction zone" that was nothing but two signs saying "construction starts" and "construction ends." She had severe stomach pains and just wanted to get home and maybe to the doctor. She was pulled over by the police and ticketed for speeding in a construction zone (10 or 15 over the limit). She did end up going to the doctor and needed emergency surgery to remove her appendix. They still wouldn't throw the ticket out and she was forced to pay $500.

I got my "construction zone by sign only" ticket on the skyway a couple years ago... nice people, those CPD people are.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

I got my "construction zone by sign only" ticket on the skyway a couple years ago... nice people, those CPD people are.

Wouldn't have been CPD on the Skyway - State Patrol. CPD hasn't had traffic jurisdiction on the expressways in a couple decades, they gave it up to the state.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Similar story happened to my mom's friend. She was going up 55 back towards Chicago from central Illinois. She passed through a mile long "construction zone" that was nothing but two signs saying "construction starts" and "construction ends." She had severe stomach pains and just wanted to get home and maybe to the doctor. She was pulled over by the police and ticketed for speeding in a construction zone (10 or 15 over the limit). She did end up going to the doctor and needed emergency surgery to remove her appendix. They still wouldn't throw the ticket out and she was forced to pay $500.

Did she go to court with proof? If so, I'd think they would have been lenient. But I guess you never know.

 

I always tell people, you should go to court if you can on ANY traffic violation. There is a good chance that you will get off, or get a much lower penalty than you normally would have. Not always, but often.

 

[kapkomet]

Wouldn't have been CPD on the Skyway - State Patrol. CPD hasn't had traffic jurisdiction on the expressways in a couple decades, they gave it up to the state.

It was Chicago PD. For sure. It was west of the Skyway Bridge and the tollbooth.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

It was Chicago PD. For sure. It was west of the Skyway Bridge and the tollbooth.

 

That's bizarre. How many years ago was this? Chicago PD gave up traffic control on the interstates a long time ago. The only time you see them out there is to get from A to B (and, I suppose, if they witness a felony in commision or something). I've never seen CPD pull someone over on the interstate.

 

Did they get you for something that happened before you got on?

 

[kapkomet]

 

That's bizarre. How many years ago was this? Chicago PD gave up traffic control on the interstates a long time ago. The only time you see them out there is to get from A to B (and, I suppose, if they witness a felony in commision or something). I've never seen CPD pull someone over on the interstate.

 

Did they get you for something that happened before you got on?

Nope. It was going west into Chicago on the Skyway at (nearly) the Stoney Island Exit. It was two years ago. They had signs up for construction, for about 1/2 mile... I don't even think they were doing anything at all at the time. But it was absolutely Chicago PD.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Nope. It was going west into Chicago on the Skyway at (nearly) the Stoney Island Exit. It was two years ago. They had signs up for construction, for about 1/2 mile... I don't even think they were doing anything at all at the time. But it was absolutely Chicago PD.

OK. I believe you, its just very unusual.

 

[kapkomet]

OK. I believe you, its just very unusual.

 

 

The whole thing was funny actually. I had a rental car with New York plates - if I had Illinois plates, there's no way I would have gotten pulled over, because there were people passing me and I got picked.

 

 

 

[StrangeSox]

Did she go to court with proof? If so, I'd think they would have been lenient. But I guess you never know.

 

I always tell people, you should go to court if you can on ANY traffic violation. There is a good chance that you will get off, or get a much lower penalty than you normally would have. Not always, but often.

 

She went to court with proof of her hospitalization, but she didn't have proof that the construction zone was BS. They were not lenient at all.

[NorthSideSox72]

She went to court with proof of her hospitalization, but she didn't have proof that the construction zone was BS. They were not lenient at all.

That sucks. Sorry to hear that.

 

I still recommend people go to court, if they can. Chances are good you'll help yourself out. If you just pay the fine, you have zero chance of getting a better outcome.