Cop Quotas

[CommanderOtto]

I dont know.... I see everyone speeding in the highway. If they had good sized quotas they would start giving tickets.

[kjeopardy]

I am surprised grievances go only as far as speeding tickets.

Those are the least of the cops' crimes (note the double entendre).

What about how they lie to elicit confessions and routinely violate citizens' Fourth Amendment rights?

[Darth Crater]

I dont know.... I see everyone speeding in the highway. If they had good sized quotas they would start giving tickets.

Speeding is a weird case. Everyone on the highway, unless the weather is bad or traffic is heavy, is going above the speed limit. Lone people driving at the speed limit actually increase the risk of accidents, as people keep switching lanes to pass them. A good rule of thumb (hypothetically of course; I would obviously never break a law or advocate breaking one) is to keep up with the traffic around you.

What you have to really watch out for, unless you like driving 80 on the highways, is local city police. They know all the areas where speeding (intentional or accidental) is common, and use those to pad both their quotas and the city budget.

[THEWULFMAN]

Shady cop stories. I'm not going to get into that too much, but I will tell you my thoughts of the police here.

The cops in my city are so underpaid, understaffed, and corrupt, I'd never trust them to do their job properly.

My mom almost got raped about 7 years ago, but fought him off. They said she should have let him finish so they could get his DNA.

They trained 200 more cops, and once they were done with their training they were instantly laid off because of budget cuts.

There is zero fear being caught for speeding in this city. In the past decade, I have seen a total of 3 cops pulling someone over for speeding. I've seen hundreds if not thousands of people going 15+ above the speed limit.

At least we're not Cleveland though. Here's a tip if you happen to be visiting that city, don't slow down or stop in east Cleveland. You'll just die. I've been there once, half the people were sitting on their front porch with shotguns. Never again.

And at least Cleveland isn't as bad as Detroit...

[Brazosgrad]

Some of my best friends and coworkers have been and are police officers. Despite your feelings otherwise, they are human beings too.

Points to Ponder

1. Not all departments adhere to the 'quota' doctrine. For those that do, so what? They are just enforcing the law more strictly than others and following their department's policy (can be written or unwritten policy).
2. Having said this, cops are given leeway to some degree what violations they enforce. Think "severity of crime" and you'll be mostly accurate. Do you really believe they give every illegal lane changer, speeder, and jaywalker a ticket? Please...
3. Many violations, while ticketed, don't make it through court. Various reasons.
4. Even if you have violated no law, if an officer asks you to present identification, you are required to do so. That doesn't mean he suspects you of anything--he just wants you to tell him who you are through your legal i.d.
5. Even if you disagree with a law, it is still the law, regardless how you personally feel. Until that law is repealed, altered, or clarified, you are expected to abide by it, regardless what you think of it.
6. Some local jurisdictions don't actively go out of their way to enforce state or national laws. Why? Lack of manpower, disinterest, it's the "other guys" job, more important things,and lo and behold--it really isn't their jurisdiction.
7. What seems important to one officer, may not be important to the next. This is why one may give you a warning, and the next one may ticket you. Maybe they are having a bad day. Who knows.

Derive what you want to out of this. Just some things to think about.

[Son]

Just offer the cop donuts like I did...See what happens.

[Darth Crater]

Some of my best friends and coworkers have been and are police officers. Despite your feelings otherwise, they are human beings too.

Points to Ponder

1. Not all departments adhere to the 'quota' doctrine. For those that do, so what? They are just enforcing the law more strictly than others and following their department's policy (can be written or unwritten policy).
2. Having said this, cops are given leeway to some degree what violations they enforce. Think "severity of crime" and you'll be mostly accurate. Do you really believe they give every illegal lane changer, speeder, and jaywalker a ticket? Please...
3. Many violations, while ticketed, don't make it through court. Various reasons.
4. Even if you have violated no law, if an officer asks you to present identification, you are required to do so. That doesn't mean he suspects you of anything--he just wants you to tell him who you are through your legal i.d.
5. Even if you disagree with a law, it is still the law, regardless how you personally feel. Until that law is repealed, altered, or clarified, you are expected to abide by it, regardless what you think of it.
6. Some local jurisdictions don't actively go out of their way to enforce state or national laws. Why? Lack of manpower, disinterest, it's the "other guys" job, more important things,and lo and behold--it really isn't their jurisdiction.
7. What seems important to one officer, may not be important to the next. This is why one may give you a warning, and the next one may ticket you. Maybe they are having a bad day. Who knows.

Derive what you want to out of this. Just some things to think about.

Really useful advice, thanks!

[THEWULFMAN]

To be clear Brazmin, I don't hate cops in general. Most of the time they have my respect. But having lived in this city for 20 years, I can't say I respect the police force here.

[CommanderOtto]

My problem with speeding is related to what I think of first world countries. Most of the world has very crappy governments. In most of the world, you just don't have the peace and quality of life that you will find in Europe or the U.S. A very big part of what makes the U.S and Europe so great is that there is a feeling of safety and respect for the law. For example, in both places, you can trust that other people will actually stop their cars at the Stop sign (even though there is not a traffic light). Also,in both places you can also trust that most of the time cars will respect the pedestrian and stop before the pedestrian crossing. For Europeans and for Americans, these two small things are so part of daily life, you guys can't see the value in it. The idea that you can TRUST other people to stop their cars for YOUR safety... that is priceless. So, when I see that people, with time, get used to disrespecting the speed limit... that bothers me in a way. My parents also lived here many years ago, and they explained to me that people used to respect the speed limit a lot more. Therefore, if I see people going above the speed limit, it is almost as if that small action is slowly diminishing what makes the U.S such a great place. Believe me, most foreigners see the level of respect americans have for traffic laws, and they WISH it was the same in their countries. I just hope that both americans and europeans continue to set the example.... because if people slowly disrespect traffic laws, then it will not be long until people start going through stop signs and pedestrian crossings. Who knows.. maybe 30 years from now we might be saying the cops don't care about those two things either just like today they don't really care about ticketing speeding drivers.

[Mandalore]

Detroit's police force is lovely, absolutely lovely.