New Ban on Ticket Quotas for Police in Illinois
Jun 18, 2014
Ticket Quotas are a common idea amongst the public. Automobile operators tend to believe police have to write a minimum amount of tickets each month to increase revenue and ensure they are doing their jobs. If true, it’s understandable that the public would be upset. Ticket quotas create the unfair idea that police are targeting drivers for all the wrong reasons.
A quick search on the web however shows some conflicting views. Some articles cite police officers who support the claim while others try to debunk it as a myth or an outdated policy that was terminated decades ago. Regardless of what side you’re on, one state is moving to make sure any doubt is removed from the public’s mind.
Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation on Sunday that bans Illinois police departments from assigning ticket quotas and evaluating officers based on how many tickets they issue. The law took effect immediately and will be applied to local, county and state levels.
The governor was quoted in a news release saying, “Law enforcement officers should have discretion on when and where to issue traffic citations and not be forced to ticket motorists to satisfy a quota system.” State Rep. Jay Hoffman echoed the governor’s sentiments saying, “Arbitrary quotas on the number of tickets that have to be issued by police officers undermines the public trust in the police departments’ priorities, by eliminating these quotas, we can restore that trust and ensure that police officers are free to do their job protecting the public.”
The new law, which stops any ability police departments have in assigning a specific number of required citations over a given period of time, passed both chambers of the General Assembly with overwhelming majorities.
It will be interesting to see if there is a noticeable decrease in traffic tickets written in Illinois and whether other states will follow suit. As for that age old ticket-quota myth, it’s safe to say it has officially been debunked…at least in Illinois anyway.
