Actually, Q is for quota. Or for Quarry. Or for Dr. Tran.
For the purposes of this blog, however, Q will just be for quota, which is to say police quotas. Like with any job, police are expected to be
productive. I don't think that's asking particularly much, especially considering that our tax dollars are paying for them. The problem is,
it's hard to prove how productive cops are being. You could use their arrests rates, but the more effective the police force is in cleaning
up an area, the less arrests there should be. You can't then assume they're doing a good job if there's a very low arrest rate, despite what
the rural village of Sandford in Hot Fuzz would have you believe, because they could be completely inept. What, then, is a good measure
to see how effective the police are being that will be constant in all areas? Traffic violations. No matter how safe a community is,
there will always be speeding, running lights, and other violations.
In theory, putting a quota on traffic tickets is a good idea, as it proves that cops are actually out there doing something. In reality,
however, cops are rarely doing anything, at least in safe communities. What this means, is that at the end of the month, or whenever the quotes are
due in each town, they pull everyone over for anything, and everything needs to be written up. Don't get me wrong, the people they pull
over are undoubtedly doing something wrong, the problem comes from the severity of the infraction. For example, my girlfriend and I were pulled
over a few days ago in her car because the passenger side headlight was out, and she was given a written warning. You're probably
wondering why this would matter, as it's only a warning. Aside from the fact we were sitting in the car with the groceries we just bought
being exposed to an unnecessary amount of heat, it meant that she had to get the headlight fixed right away, as the next time she was pulled
over for it would be an actual ticket. That's what the written warnings are for, after all.
The reason something like that is so irritating is because of what we've been pulled over for and not ticketed. She was pulled over earlier
this year for having a failed safety inspection sticker. In Massachusetts you can drive for somewhere between 30 and 90 days for failing your emissions test,
but you can't drive if you failed your safety inspection. She was pulled over, and instead of her car being towed, she was let off with a
verbal warning. Driving a car that has been deemed unsafe for the road is a much more severe offense, but it wasn't "that time of the month"
for the police force, so they couldn't be bothered.
My story is a bit more severe. I was late for work at the post office. I did that thing when you start driving through a yellow light
knowing full well that it would turn red while you were in the middle of the intersection. I didn't realize there had been a cop waiting
for his light to turn green...or that I was going 100 miles an hour. So I was pulled over for blowing a red light going 100 miles an hour
in a 30 mile an hour zone. Going over three times the speed limit is known as excessive speeding, and is the sort of shit you lose
your license for. I said I was late for work at the post office, and I was let off with a verbal warning. There is no official record that this event
ever happened. Obviously, I didn't want a ticket or to lose my license, but I was well aware I was doing something wrong and would have
accepted the consequences.
You're probably thinking I shouldn't whine that neither of us were punished for the more serious violations we were pulled over for, but
honestly, if cops bothered to ticket people who were breaking the law and endangering lives all month long, then we all wouldn't have to
suffer with being pulled over for stupid shit.
The police force is on its period again
© 2008 by Dr. Jeebus