Police department email says traffic ticket money will fund future pay raises
Atlanta - Channel 2 Action News has obtained an email sent to Atlanta police that says traffic ticket money will fund future pay raises.
An Atlanta police source told Channel 2’s Amy Napier Viteri there are concerns that linking pay raises to tickets creates an indirect quota system, but the Mayor’s Office and the author of the email insist there’s no push to write more tickets.
The email from police union President Ken Allen explains future police pay raises will be funded through traffic tickets and court revenue. It comes on the heels of the passage of the city’s budget.
“The mayor has designated traffic court/ticket revenue for future pay increases ... (This is) the first time ever that a revenue stream has been designated to salaries,” Allen told officers in the email.
“Future pay increases are in our hands. We need only enforce traffic violations as we are now, but increase our attendance in court to prevent cases being dismissed."
By phone, Allen told Viteri drivers cited for ticket offenses are slipping through the cracks.
“A bunch of people get out of legitimate traffic citations that have already been issued that are beating the system based on how the system is running,” Allen said.
A representative for the mayor’s office iterated sentiments about improving how the police department engages in traffic court, “especially regarding operations and the collections process … There is no push to increase revenues through the writing of additional tickets.”
But a police source told Viteri the plan could make officers work toward increasing citations, in hopes of a higher wage. Some drivers Viteri spoke to agree.
“I’m probably going to switch from sales and join the police force in that case, if that's the way it's working,” Ken Miller said.
Allen said enforcement of traffic laws won't change.
An Atlanta police representative said the department has not issued any directive for officers to write more tickets, nor informed them ticket writing is directly tied to their compensation.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/apd-email-says-traffic-money-fund-future-pay-raise/nYRF4/
Charges of severe ticket quota policy rock NYC dept. of consumer affairs:
New York - There are stunning charges that a New York City agency charged with policing small businesses has a secret quota system and devastatingly high fines that threaten some establishments with extinction.
Michael Bloomberg, the mayor known in some circles as “El Bloombito,” is now being called “Ticket Me Elmo” by a bevy of small business owners crushed by the profusion of tickets being handed out by Department of Consumer Affairs inspectors, who told CBS 2 that they have to meet quotes – or else, political reporter Marcia Kramer reported exclusively on Tuesday.
“They want small business to go out of business,” said East Flatbush gas station owner Ekam Cattry.
Cattry was in the process of converting from a no-brand station to an Exxon station when Consumer Affairs inspectors struck.
They hit him with a $20,000 fine because the new sign reading “Exxon” had not arrived yet. And while he was appealing that they threatened to take away his cigarette license because he had not paid the first fine.
“They want to collect much money and small man don’t make that much money. That mean people they no pay the money they have to close their business,” Cattry said. “It’s not fair.”
The number of tickets given out by Consumer Affairs has skyrocketed from 10.9 million in 2010 to nearly 24.2 million in 2012.
Inspectors told CBS 2 it’s because the department instituted a secret quota.
An internal Consumer Affairs document obtained by CBS 2 shows employees are prodded about their “productivity levels” to “keep numbers high” to meet a “25 percent threshold.”
Translation? A ticket has to be written on one out of every four inspections.
“When your violations aren’t up to the standards that they want they would say that your productivity is low and then a borough director or supervisor are encouraged to write you up for low productivity,” said retired Consumer Affairs supervisor Moses Layne.
Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio was incensed.
“This whole system has become rigged and the little guy loses out every time. Let me tell you what, we see coming into our office every day just a typical store owner that’s fined $5,100,” de Blasio said. “It’s one of the worst quota systems we’ve seen.”
Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz said, “Ticket quotas? There’s no such thing.”
But he did say that department data shows that, historically, one out of every four inspections does generate a violation. If an inspector isn’t giving out that many tickets, “It’s a flag for the manager,” Mintz said. “Does this inspector know what they’re doing? Is this inspector on the take?”
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/06/25/exclusive-stunning-charges-of-severe-ticket-quota-policy-rock-nyc-dept-of-consumer-affairs/#.UcobiY2VUYI.email