LAPD Officer Allegedly Profiled Latinos In Los Angeles

Posted: 27th March 2012 by admin in Traffic Ticket Revenue
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Here is another example of how someone with a badge and a gun can play God, deciding who gets pulled over and ticketed and who doesn't. Despite the fact that this particular officer may have been targeting Latinos, it's hard to imagine someone of this ilk passing up opportunities to write tickets for those of other races. So if this story is true, why would any ticket this guy wrote still be valid? Shouldn't all of his victims he targeted over the years be given refunds for the tickets they've paid? I suppose it's easier for the City of Los Angeles just to say sorry rather than returning the money to the victims of this lucrative scam.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2012/03/lapd_profile_latinos_drivers_officer.php

Supporting Real Traffic Enforcement, Not Tax Collectors on Wheels

Posted: 7th November 2011 by admin in Traffic Ticket Revenue
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I've received a number of comments from readers who ask me if I am against traffic enforcement and the writing of any traffic tickets. The simple answer, of course, is that I, as much as anyone, want to see the roads and highways safe for everyone. Why wouldn't I? I have my own safety at stake as well as my friends and family. But whenever I see a police officer pull over someone who might have ever so slightly rolled past a stop sign without completely stopping or someone ticketed because they picked up their cell phone while they were sitting in dead-stop traffic on a Southland freeway, I wonder if the individual police officer realizes he is doing nothing to make our roads safer. He is merely playing the role of revenue collector.

While the officer is spending his time writing the ticket for the harmless traffic infraction committed by someone posing no threat at all to anyone's safety, he is unavailable to apprehend the driver who truly does pose a danger to all of us; the one speeding down the freeway shoulder, or tailgating aggressively with high beams on, or changing lanes suddenly without signaling. These are the types of drivers traffic enforcement should be focused on, the dangerous ones, not the ones who forgot to cross their t's and dot their i's.

So all I have been writing about on this blog is the idea that traffic enforcement has become a game of gotcha, a game where safe and conscientious drivers are targeted by law enforcement just as much as the dangerous ones. I don't blame the police departments entirely for this change. State and local governments need cash–lots of it–and collecting fines for traffic tickets has become an endless source of revenue for them. They see the police officer as nothing more than a tax collector on wheels. Until this practice of using police officers as revenue collectors changes, we will continue to see traffic enforcement officers chasing anything that moves, whether it's dangerous or not.

L.A. To Shut Down Red-Light Cameras

Posted: 3rd August 2011 by admin in Traffic Ticket Revenue
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The Los Angeles City Council has voted to remove dozens of red-light cameras throughout the city, not because of their potential to cause rear-end collisions, but because payment of the tickets were not being enforced. For those, however, who were ticketed by these cameras and paid the $500 fines–even though they really didn't have to–will not be allowed to apply for a refund. Talk about feeling duped.

But Los Angeles is not the only city in Southern California to discover a whole new way to generate revenue from ticketing those whom they are supposed to be representing, With 88 smaller cities surrounding L.A.,  there's plenty of opportunity to get rich by landing a job at one of these local city halls, even in the midst of a recession. At least we know the $500 fines we pay here are going to a good cause. We should feel good that our rent money or our kid's annual school tuition is being taken out of our budget to help supplement our local city manager's $236,000 yearly salary. 

Red-Light Cameras On Their Way Out

“All Animals Are Equal, But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others”–City Officials Use Gold Club Card To Escape Parking Citations

Posted: 24th May 2011 by admin in Traffic Ticket Revenue
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For the past twenty years as the traffic ticket industry has grown into a multi-million dollar business for local and state governments, there are a few hidden safeguards to protect the beneficiaries of the system. In another example of power corrupting absolutely, a "Gold Card" was distributed to certain city officials so they could call a special telephone number listed on the card to help them get their parking citations canceled or have the fines of the citation reduced. 

And, no, this was not some recent scheme that was shut down as soon as it was created. The "Gold Card" program was in existence for twenty years in the city of Los Angeles before it was just discovered by a city auditor who reported that about 1,000 citations were dismissed–some without any justification–over a two year period. Of course, those who were lucky enough to have their citations dismissed had to be a member of the "Gold Card Desk", which only included the Mayor and other city officials.

Unlike you and I who no doubt would have had to pay close to $100 for the ticket, all these officials had to do after ripping the citation off of their windshield was to call the number on their "Gold Card" and have the citation dismissed. The sheer arrogance of the very officials who leave no stone unturned in finding ways to reach into the wallets of their constituents, even find a way to exempt themselves from paying the same fines they have levied on everyone else. And to think this went on for twenty years…..Stunning.

Why Is The Burden of Proof On The Motorist And Not On The Police Officer Who Writes The Ticket?

Posted: 29th April 2011 by admin in Traffic Ticket Revenue
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As I was driving into work this morning I came upon a traffic light that suddenly turned yellow just as I neared the intersection. I managed to stop just a few feet over the line and avoid the attention of any nearby police officer waiting for the opportunity to write a ticket for running a red light.

I was in the so-called "dilemma zone", that area where you aren't quite sure whether you are able to stop without burning rubber and getting rear-ended or whether you should attempt to make it through the intersection before the light turns red.  But considering the fact that traffic ticket writing is now an official sport in most cities here in California now, I decided to avoid any chance of getting a ticket so I slammed on the brakes and came to a sudden and abrupt stop.

But even if I had decided that it was too late to stop and simply accelerated through the intersection and made it through before the light turned red, would there be any guarantee that I would not be pulled over and given a ticket? These days, with every driver seen as a potential source of municipal and state revenue, there's no guarantee that even if you do make it through the intersection before the light turns red, that an idle and restless police officer, twiddling his thumbs behind a bush somewhere, still won't pull you over anyway and hand you a ticket for a few hundred dollars.  After all, it's his word against yours and since you might have just barely made it through the intersection before the light turned red, the officer might just think, “oh, what the heck, it was close enough, and it’s been a while since I wrote my last ticket.  I’ll just ticket this guy and grab some breakfast.”

He needs no other evidence to back up his allegation that you ran a red light, which is why he can ticket you just because he feels like it or because he needs to make up some ground on his ticket quota, or even to maintain his traffic ticket lead over his fellow ticket writers down at the station.  He also knows that even if you decide to contest the ticket in traffic court—which most drivers do not have the time to do—his word trumps yours before the judge.

And this is exactly why the traffic ticket industry is able to generate so many tickets and fines. Other than a police officer's testimony, no other evidence is required for the court to declare an individual guilty of running a red light, or rolling a stop sign, or failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk. For all practical purposes, your guilt or innocence is determined by the perception and judgment of one individual whose job it is to write traffic tickets all day.

In every other crime category, the state has the burden of proof to make the case that an individual committed a crime and making that case almost always requires more than simply the testimony of a single police officer. The "presumption of innocence" places the entire burden of proof on the prosecution, on the one who asserts a crime has been committed, not on the one who is accused of that crime. This may be true in every other area of the criminal justice system, but it certainly doesn’t seem to apply to those accused of violating traffic laws.

The burden of proof has conveniently shifted away from the state and onto the accused.  How else could the traffic ticket industry continue to generate their millions of dollars in revenue every year if we allowed such quaint principles of justice such as the “presumption of innocence” to interfere with the dispensing of traffic tickets? When it comes to the traffic ticket industry, it’s all about cranking out those tickets and getting that money out of the pockets of the drivers in the most efficient means possible. Adhering to precepts of justice is simply not compatible with generating out tons of traffic tickets.

Requiring police officers to actually back up every traffic ticket they write with video proof would move the burden of proof back to where it belongs, to the state. But somehow I get the feeling that the traffic ticket industry is making too much money these days to consider placing any burden at all on their army of uniformed tax collectors. And why should they when the money keeps rolling in without any opposition. Too bad we can't buy stock in this blue chip business, the only business I know of with a guaranteed income stream for as long as there are cars on the road.

It’s Good To Be King–Judge Accused Of Fixing Traffic Tickets For Friends, Family, and Co-Workers

Posted: 15th April 2011 by admin in Traffic Ticket Revenue
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In the multi-million dollar traffic ticket industry in California where the slightest infraction can end up costing the most conscientious of drivers several hundred dollars these days, there's always a chance that employees inside the industry might have one of their friends or relatives unwittingly become one of the victims of the scam. But not to worry, at least not if the poor victim is a friend of an Orange County judge who does his best to look after his pals.

According the the Los Angeles Times, the Commission on Judicial Performance will examine whether Judge Richard Stanford "violated ethics rules by first having the traffic citations transferred to his courtroom and then granting special favors such as waiving fines without following proper courtroom rules." Given the description of what this judge allegedly did, how long could this investigation actually take? By lunchtime? One minute? Certainly this case shouldn't require too much diagramming on the whiteboard to map out the elaborate plot of a judge who managed to get these cases transferred to his court and then proceeded to fix the tickets for his network of family and friends, including his minister. This should take about as much time to investigate as it would for a traffic cop to determine if someone ran a red light or not.

The story does raise the question though of how often this kind of favoritism goes on. If it goes on inside a courtroom–not by a clerk, but by a judge– then it certainly must go on long before many cases ever get to the courtroom. How many of us can imagine a traffic cop pulling over and ticketing a driver who rolled a stop sign only to discover that the driver is his sister-in-law or some other relative? With no camera looking over the traffic cop's shoulder recording his work, who would ever know if he is granting his friends and family immunity from the traffic laws.

When it comes to writing a ticket or not, he is the sole, ultimate authority. If you are his wife or brother-in-law and you roll that stop sign and he pulls you over, you probably get to continue your day with no more than a few laughs and a brief discussion on what time Easter dinner is this year. If, however, you are unrelated to the man with the ticket book, expect no such leniency. Whereas sister-in-law Janine gets to brag to her co-workers about how she just got off from paying a huge fine because her sister's husband is a cop, you, however, get to pay the hundreds of dollars in fines and face an increase in your insurance premiums. You don't have to be a judge to experience how good it feels to be king. Just a badge, some bright red and blue lights, and, of course, a ticket book is all you need.

Having SuperHero Peripheral Vision At 40 mph–Spotting The Pedestrian’s Foot As It Leaves Curb and Touches Crosswalk

Posted: 4th March 2011 by admin in Crosswalk Stings, Red Light Cameras, Traffic Ticket Revenue
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Whenever I read an article about a crosswalk sting where dozens of tickets are handed out within a couple of hours, I wonder if the local police department spends any time wondering why so many drivers were ticketed. I drive an average of about two hours a day, a commute that requires me to take three different freeways and a variety of side streets. During these daily commutes I might come across, at most, a few drivers who are plainly driving without any regard for the safety of those around them. They might be speeding and zig zagging through traffic without signaling, tailgating in an aggressive manner in an attempt to intimidate the driver in front of them to go faster, or simply blowing right through stop signs without even slowing down. 

But never in my many years of driving through the streets and freeways of Los Angeles have I ever come across more than a few of these types of drivers on a daily basis. As much as it sounds like a cliche, most people, especially when it comes to obeying the traffic laws, are basically decent, honest, and law abiding citizens. Fortunately, the dangerous drivers, the ones who flagrantly flout traffic laws and put the rest of us in danger, are relatively rare given the number of cars on the road here.

So given this experience, I'm always surprised when I read a story about how the local police department ticketed dozens of motorists at a crosswalk sting within just a couple of hours of the operation. If I'm only coming across, at most, a few reckless and dangerous drivers over the course of my commute to and from work every day, then how can there be so many of them in the vicinity of one particular crosswalk all at the same time?

Could it be that most of the drivers caught up in these crosswalk stings might not be as reckless and dangerous as their "failure to yield" tickets they received might indicate? Is it possible that those ticketed, driving at around 40 mph with several other cars in front, on the sides, and behind them, were unable to spot the "pedestrian" standing on either side of the crosswalk tapping his foot from curb to street in his game of "gotcha"? If the test was to spot the undercover officer standing at the curb in their peripheral vision and then manage to stop suddenly before reaching the crosswalk without getting rear-ended, then many good, conscientious drivers were going to fail that test. Hence, the disproportionate number of tickets handed out during these stings.

So in the interest of public safety, why are these local law enforcement agencies not analyzing the data, not asking themselves why so many drivers are not stopping for the "pedestrian" standing on the curb next to the crosswalk? Why do these crosswalk stings seem to result in so many tickets, a disproportionate number when compared to other types of stings? A stubborn and close-minded police department would not bother to ask such questions, preferring instead to pat themselves on the back for writing so many tickets in the name of public safety, and then moving on to the next sting, leaving the dangerous crosswalk behind. Such behavior is tantamount to a plumber arriving at job site, noting that one or more pipes have developed leaks, but then doing nothing to fix the leaks other than to write a trouble ticket and hand an invoice to the building's owner.

Such a lack of basic analysis and reflection not only results in conscientious drivers getting ticketed unfairly, it also endangers the very pedestrians these police departments say they are protecting. If a two hour crosswalk sting determines that dozens of drivers are unwilling or unable to stop for pedestrians, why would you, as a law enforcement officer, feel comfortable leaving that crosswalk unprotected after the sting is over? Isn't it safe to assume that the large numbers of drivers unwilling or unable to stop for the pedestrian during the sting would continue throughout the entire day? And, if so, wouldn't leaving that crosswalk unprotected be a dereliction of your duty to protect and to serve?

This is the most baffling aspect of these stings; nothing is ever done afterwards to improve public safety after the ticket writers leave the crosswalk and head back to the station. If it is determined that large numbers of drivers are not stopping for pedestrians at these crosswalks, then doesn't public safety require that a pedestrian traffic signal be installed there or, at the very least, a stop sign? If the safety of the pedestrian is truly paramount, as the sting operators say it is, then why, seriously, would you not demand that a traffic light or stop sign be installed at these crosswalks where large numbers of tickets are being written? Why not make it safer for the pedestrian –and the driver in danger of being rear-ended–by providing a clear, unambiguous, and attention-grabbing signal that screams "You need to stop!"? Fortunately, such a device was invented years ago; it's called a traffic signal.There is a reason why intersections have traffic lights hanging directly in front of approaching drivers; they are much easier to see and respond to than a human being standing off to the side of the road with his hands in his pockets.

So rather than being like the plumber who reports the leak, but doesn't fix it, police departments who run these stings should do more than simply write tickets. When they discover that a particular crosswalk puts pedestrians–and, lets not forget, drivers too– at risk, they need to push the city's traffic department to install a traffic signal, or, at the very least, a stop sign. This will help to protect all of us–pedestrian and motorist alike– far more than any crosswalk sting can. It's time to move beyond the ticket writing and sanctimonious posturing and install the equipment necessary to protect pedestrians and drivers. It may take some of the fun away from those police officers who enjoy playing this game of gotcha, and it will definitely destroy the crosswalk sting as a way to generate revenue for the two hour lunch crowd up in Sacramento and in city hall, but it sure would make the rest of us a lot safer.

141,729 Traffic Tickets Dismissed In Vancouver

Posted: 30th January 2011 by admin in Traffic Ticket Revenue
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A court in Vancouver, Canada recently dismissed 141,729 camera-generated traffic tickets because of concerns over the reliability of the cameras. How many other drivers outside of Vancouver are paying $500 fines and increased insurance premiums due to these electronic pick pockets? Given the apparent zeal of most local and state government officals to utilize these traffic cameras to generate enough revenue to cover their six-digit salaries, I doubt the accuracy and reliability of these cameras is much of a concern to them. What difference does it make as long as the cameras continue to shake down their constituents for hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue every year? 

Video Exemplifies “Do As I Say, Not As I Do” Hypocrisy

Posted: 22nd January 2011 by admin in Traffic Ticket Revenue
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A woman's cell phone camera catches a Greenwood, IN police officer speeding and running through stop signs, violations which may have cost the driver thousands of dollars in fines and higher insurance premiums had he not been a police officer. But now that his violations have been captured on video, why can't he be fined in the same way a non-police officer would be when they are photographed at an intersection by a red light camera? If you'd like to see a definition of hypocrisy in action click the link below and get a glimpse of what it feels like to drive without having to obey traffic laws. It's good to be king.

Officer Speeds, Disregards Traffic Signals

The Ultimate Traffic Ticket Bully? Bell, CA Police Officer Sentenced For Using Threat of Traffic Ticket In Exchange for Sex

Posted: 25th December 2010 by admin in Use of Force
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As this blog as pointed out before, there are bad apples in every institution, in every profession. Whether it's politicians, school teachers, Catholic priests, Protestant ministers, or, yes, even police officers, there are always going to be a handful of members who disgrace the organization they represent. This is true for any human institution and police officers are no different. The problem, however, is that no other institution outside of law enforcement has the power and authority to physically force an individual to comply with the demands of the representative.

The overwhelming power a police officer has over an individual is immense and can be easily abused, especially if that police officer's interactions with the individual are not being videotaped. Here is a case in Bell, CA where required videotaping of every traffic stop would have saved a poor, defenseless woman a lifetime of trauma and therapy.

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-former-bell-officer-sexual-assault-case-m,0,1618154.story

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