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Sherman L. Cahal
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 Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:34 am Post subject: WV: Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas; lack of man |
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http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200811180417
Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas
Survey of State Police also questions manpower
Charleston Gazette/AP, November 18, 2008
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A majority of State Police troopers believe there
are not enough officers in the field throughout West Virginia.
And nearly a fourth of troopers who responded to a new survey survey
complain that State Police brass impose an unofficial monthly quota
for traffic warnings or citations. About 30 percent say they're
punished for not meeting that quota.
More than one-fifth of those surveyed believe troopers are arbitrarily
transferred or relocated as a form of discipline, even though that's
against state law.
Legislative auditors queried all 445 troopers assigned to field posts
in May. At least 82 percent responded, and the 26-question survey
yielded more than 1,800 comments.
State Police officials say they're addressing the manpower issue, and
dispute the quota allegations.
"That in no way has been the directive,'' Deputy Superintendent Steve
Tucker told a joint House-Senate committee meeting.
A majority of in-the-field troopers -- 247 officers or 68 percent of
those responding -- said their areas lacked adequate police coverage
at all times. More than 80 percent of those surveyed in two districts,
one serving the Eastern Panhandle and the other the Potomac Highlands,
believed it to be true.
Gail Higgins, acting legislative research manager, cited the national
average of 2.5 law enforcement officers for every 1,000 residents.
West Virginia's ratio is 1.69 officers.
Surveyed troopers critical of the situation complained that shortages
frequently force overtime, and that the department fails to compensate
officers while "on call.''
Several troopers who have been assigned to respond while otherwise off-
duty alleged the practice reduces their effectiveness when they are
scheduled to help on-duty troopers in adjoining detachments within
their troop.
"In the event of an emergency, the 'on call' officer responding may
not be within the same county as the incident,'' the audit report,
released Tuesday, said. "Additionally, the officer may not be as
familiar with the area as an officer who patrols that area on a
regular basis.''
County officials echoed some of the troopers' concerns to auditors.
State Police officials say legislation that would pay "on-call''
troopers has failed during the last two sessions. Tucker told
lawmakers Tuesday that about 20 troopers are on military leave, but
said recent pay raises and pension improvements have helped ease
turnover and shortages.
"I think we have turned the corner on some of the problems with
retaining our folks,'' Tucker said.
The audit also recommended that the state create a hard-to-counterfeit
license for concealed weapon permit holders, and perhaps note that
status on their driver's licenses. The latter step would increase the
safety of the permit holder and troopers or other law enforcement
during a traffic stop, the report said.
Several committee members questioned those proposals. The auditors and
Tucker said they were unaware of an instance when an officer was
confronted by someone licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
"Anecdotally, concealed weapon permit holders are law-abiding citizens
that we generally don't have as defendants in criminal cases,'' Tucker
said.
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Sherman Cahal
http://www.americanbyways.com
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H.B. Elkins
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| Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 8:23 am Post subject: Re: WV: Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas; lack of |
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On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:34:36 -0800 (PST), Sherman L. Cahal wrote:
| Quote: |
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200811180417
Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas
Survey of State Police also questions manpower
|
Never let police officials tell you they don't impose a quota, or at least have
recommended performance levels, for ticket-writing. If they tell you that,
they're lying.
A police officer friend of mine in a decent-sized Kentucky town was once working
federal overtime and said he had to write a certain number of tickets. He was on
duty and had to cut our on-the-sidewalk conversation short because of that; 5
minutes later I saw him with a car pulled over.
I agree about cops being short-handed, though, but they ought to be responding
to emergency calls and patrolling high-crime areas instead of looking to write
tickets.
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JG
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| Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 11:14 pm Post subject: Re: WV: Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas; lack of |
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On Nov 19, 8:23 pm, H.B. Elkins <hbelk...@mis.net.restrictorplate>
wrote:
| Quote: | On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:34:36 -0800 (PST), Sherman L. Cahal wrote:
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200811180417
Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas
Survey of State Police also questions manpower
Never let police officials tell you they don't impose a quota, or at least have
recommended performance levels, for ticket-writing. If they tell you that,
they're lying.
A police officer friend of mine in a decent-sized Kentucky town was once working
federal overtime and said he had to write a certain number of tickets. He was on
duty and had to cut our on-the-sidewalk conversation short because of that; 5
minutes later I saw him with a car pulled over.
I agree about cops being short-handed, though, but they ought to be responding
to emergency calls and patrolling high-crime areas instead of looking to write
tickets.
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Most state troopers' primary functions are traffic patrol, with county
sheriffs, constables, and local police performing crime related duties. |
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John Mayson
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:30 am Post subject: Re: WV: Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas; lack of |
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I know a few cops and know them fairly well. They have all said they
don't have quotas, but it doesn't really matter. There are enough people
out there breaking the law so it's not much of a challenge to write
tickets.
John
--
John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA |
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Scott M. Kozel
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:09 am Post subject: Re: WV: Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas; lack of |
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John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote:
| Quote: |
I know a few cops and know them fairly well. They have all said they
don't have quotas, but it doesn't really matter. There are enough
people out there breaking the law so it's not much of a challenge to
write tickets.
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It wouldn't be much of a challenge to write -thousands- of times more
tickets.
--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Capital Beltway Projects http://www.capital-beltway.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com |
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H.B. Elkins
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:53 am Post subject: Re: WV: Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas; lack of |
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On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:14:06 -0800 (PST), JG wrote:
| Quote: | Most state troopers' primary functions are traffic patrol, with county
sheriffs, constables, and local police performing crime related duties.
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The problem with that is that in Kentucky, sheriffs and constables are elected,
not hired or appointed based on qualifications, and there are no education or
training requirements. Most sheriff's deputies are not professional law
enforcement officers, either.
Local police are required to have a certain amount of training but municipal
police departments don't pay well, so oftentimes cops leave for other jobs with
less stress and more pay.
Still, I'd rather see state police trying to prevent drug deals or burglaries or
assaults than writing tickets for doing a perfectly safe 75 mph in a 65 mph
arbitrarily decided zone.
--
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SP Cook
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 1:57 pm Post subject: Re: WV: Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas; lack of |
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On Nov 21, 8:53 pm, H.B. Elkins <hbelk...@mis.net.restrictorplate>
wrote:
| Quote: | On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:14:06 -0800 (PST), JG wrote:
Most state troopers' primary functions are traffic patrol, with county
sheriffs, constables, and local police performing crime related duties.
The problem with that is that in Kentucky, sheriffs and constables are elected,
not hired or appointed based on qualifications, and there are no education or
training requirements. Most sheriff's deputies are not professional law
enforcement officers, either.
Local police are required to have a certain amount of training but municipal
police departments don't pay well, so oftentimes cops leave for other jobs with
less stress and more pay.
Still, I'd rather see state police trying to prevent drug deals or burglaries or
assaults than writing tickets for doing a perfectly safe 75 mph in a 65 mph
arbitrarily decided zone.
Of course. But serious useful police work is dangerous and |
unprofitable. Random taxing is safe and profitable.
In WV all cops other than the state troopers have to go through the
local version of the state police academy, theoretically. However, a
town can hire ANYBODY and make them a cop today, because there is a
two year waiting list. They can thus go out and, with absoulutely no
training whatsoever, work as a cop for a very long time. The state
troopers themselves have a sperate academy. Both are glorified
versions of military basic training and mostly just running around and
like that. Very little actual academic work.
The idea that radar cops are "trained" is, IMHO, mostly a myth.
SP Cook |
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1100GS_rider
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2008 4:59 am Post subject: Re: WV: Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas; lack of |
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John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote:
| Quote: | I know a few cops and know them fairly well. They have all said they
don't have quotas
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They are lying. |
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gpsman
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| Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:35 am Post subject: Re: WV: Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas; lack of |
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On Nov 19, 8:34 pm, "Sherman L. Cahal" <shermanca...@gmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200811180417
Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas
Survey of State Police also questions manpower
Charleston Gazette/AP, November 18, 2008
And nearly a fourth of troopers who responded to a new survey survey
complain that State Police brass impose an unofficial monthly quota
for traffic warnings or citations. About 30 percent say they're
punished for not meeting that quota.
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<blahblahblah blahblah blah blah snipped>
So... ...are the quotas 1 ticket per month... or 1000...?
If it's 1, WTF are they doing all day? Sitting outside Panera Bread
posting to Usenet?
-----
- gpsman |
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H.B. Elkins
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:05 am Post subject: Re: WV: Troopers say brass gives them ticket quotas; lack of |
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On Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:35:39 -0800 (PST), gpsman wrote:
| Quote: | So... ...are the quotas 1 ticket per month... or 1000
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My policeman friend told me what his quota was. Unfortunately I've forgotten the
number he told me.
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