Erm…
[quote=offroadzj;519232… they really do have quotas they should hit. [/quote]
You beg to differ with yourself.
Just about everybody on the road is breaking the law and can be ticketed at any point in time. When was the last time you went an entire day following the speed limit to a T? And before you go with the 10mph comment, I’ve been ticketed for 10mph over, 11mph over, and some members here have been indeed ticketed for less than that, such as Cossey for 3mph over IIRC.
Nobody is arguing overtime or holidays increase, that’s a given, overtime is available at other times of the month too not just the end so that point is null.
If there is a cop A who makes only 3 stops a month while cop B makes 30 and they are both “allowed” then obviously that goal setting isn’t working out.
As far as procrastinating comment, I’m sure you know plenty of people that like to get everything out of the way ASAP and get it done whenever they have the task to be free later, so cop A would just be heavy at the beginning of each month and slack of later.
The end of the month point makes no sense and has no basis for validity. (holidays excluding).
I know cops that only stop people for equipment malfunctions such as your tail lights or headlights and that usually leads to other things (unless the scanner goes off). I also know cops that just like to pull people over and give tickets all the time. I know a female Colonie cops that rarely gives tickets for anything. NONE of those cops will change their ways just because the month is nearing the end, they stick to their old ways day in and day out, whether it be stopping everybody or stopping nearly nobody.
To add to that, a cop that gives out only 5 tickets for 28 days of the month and then 25 tickets in the last 3 days won’t look good for the chief either because he slacked off for the other 28 days, any kind of goal setting would require daily ticket or two activity, not a monthly basis.
Quick link
“Troopers of the Washington State Patrol do not have a quota or minimum number of traffic stops they are required to make in any given time,” department spokesman Freddy Williams said. The patrol expects a full day’s work for a full day’s pay from each and every one of its employees.
“Supervisors look at the daily work sheet each, and every trooper is required to complete, to see how many physical assists or violator contacts were made. But there is no mandate or regulation requiring a specific minimum number of contacts per shift.”
Seattle police echoed Williams’ statements on traffic tickets: “We have no quotas,” department spokesman Jeff Kappel said.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/159284.asp
So basically, yes there are goals for cops to give tickets, that however has no connection to the day on the calendar. Their job is to enforce the law and give tickets, DAILY. When the Chief tells you to write more tickets cause you don’t have enough, that doesn’t mean write 100 in a day and do nothing for the rest of the month.