Making money by policing only does harm

Anyone who has driven up from New York along Route 684 knows that there are townships along the way that generate substantial revenue from traffic tickets for speeding and other driving fines. There is nothing wrong with that, as one D.C. police officer recently explained on NPR.

“If you follow any car, every car, for a few miles, they will have broken some traffic rule, and you can pull them over.” 

Changing lanes without signaling, obstructed views with an air freshener, a COVID-delayed registration sticker, forgetting to honk in Ohio each time you pass a car, “jumping” a yellow light, not leaving enough braking distance in traffic… the list is endless (and often silly or at best out-of-date).

“Pull them over” translates to a traffic ticket (usually), which generates revenue. Quotas, unspoken quotas, and other internal directives for officers to “serve and protect” traffic laws and drivers’ misdeeds become an Excel spreadsheet line item to calculate overall police budget capabilities. And remember, almost 95% of traffic tickets result in paid fines across the nation. It’s guaranteed money. Serious crime has no financial reward for police departments.

Now, why in heck do these traffic cops (because that’s what they are when conducting traffic duties) need firepower? If we split the police forces into serve and protect crime fighters and simple traffic police — gave them different training, different uniforms and vehicles — then if you were stopped for a traffic violation they could give you only a ticket. If there were anything more their computer told them before they approached the car, they could radio for police backup and de-escalate the situation. Heck, put up more traffic cameras and mail the tickets, keep the police expenses low and revenue — and safety — high.

If I, as a driver, were stopped by a traffic cop, I would not be frightened, I would not have to wave my empty hands out the window to show I was not armed… why? Because I would know a traffic cop wasn’t armed, already frightened, and ready for battle.

We have to face facts. Police are under tremendous pressure. It is a battle out there. These are brave men and women whose talents are undermined by making them traffic cops. Good cops whose ability to train for and concentrate on serious crime is hampered by the hours they spend cruising around in traffic looking to raise money for local police budgets. Using fully trained police as simplistic fund-raisers really has to stop. It is dangerous for the cops and — as shown recently — the public. And this traffic duty does almost nothing to stop serious crime and, more importantly, reduces manpower and tax budgets desperately needed elsewhere.

 

Writer Peter Riva, a former resident of Amenia Union, currently resides in New Mexico.

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