State Troopers hold ticket writing competition for pizza prize

And they still say quotas are a myth.

Connecticut's state police union is angry over a memo, obtained by News 8, that has troopers in the Bethany barracks going on a ticketing spree Friday to beat other barracks and win pizza.

The email, from Lt. Anthony Schirillo, challenges troopers to write 350 tickets or more during a 24 hour window starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday. The shift with the most tickets gets pizza, another message said.

Certainly a noble cause.

Next time you're pulled over ask yourself if you were really speeding or if the ticketing officer is having a little fun racing for a pizza party.

Not only does it kill the "quotas are a myth" nonsense it also kills the "enforcement isnt revenue" myth:

The state police union calls it ticket blitzing -- Connecticut trying to make money off of enforcement.

It's a mess all over. They say it isnt a quota but an effort to get troopers to do their jobs. So troopers arent doing their jobs? Why arent they fired?

Then they say it's justified because it brings the state revenue. I thought enforcement was about public safety not generating revenue?

All the while the union is PO'd that the memo got out. Why so upset if their was nothing wrong with what they were doing?

Link to story

Rest assured peasants. In the end it's all about the children:

"There is nothing more difficult for a Connecticut state trooper than to stop a family -- a husband, a wife, a couple of children in the back -- for a motor vehicle violation, and hand that family a $275 ticket for violation of the rules of the road. But we look at that family and hope that we have saved a life."

That is pathetic. How can anyone trust whom is supposed to be there for them and to help them when they pull crap like this. Makes me wonder how often this kind of thing happens. It also reminded me to the NO Saints Bounty Program for football. Wonder how funny they think it will be when most of the tickets are disputed over this and it COSTS the court system the time and money to have them overturned.

"350 tickets or more during a 24 hour window"

lolwut

Originally posted by Vasa Croe
Makes me wonder how often this kind of thing happens.

According to the article the troopers do this every spring. At least.

Yeah, totally reminded me of the Saints bounty debacle.

Those parties involved got pretty severe punishment. The troopers however? Nothing will come of it.

And people wonder why the disdain for police is growing.

Last week I was thinking, as I drove home, that being a traffic cop must be the easiest job in the world.
Like the proverbial shooting fish in a barrel.

So for the rest oif the journey I kept a look out for drivers breaking the law. Not more than a few seconds would go by before I found someone I could have booked if I was a cop.
Speeding, another one speeding, another one speeding, turning without using indicators, brake light not working, talking on the phone, dangerous driving, another one speeding, one moron indicated right then turned left... etc...

I'm surprised they even need quotas. What they need is a thicker ticket book.

come on, people break the law all the time, and most of the year we turn our heads the other way without giving tickets...

So what if they give tickets in a "blitz" for 1 day? nobody is making anything up, they are doing their job without using their discretionary powers; you're caught doing something and breaking the law, you get a ticket...

what's wrong with that? don't want a ticket, then don't speed, do your stops, and follow the rules of the road... it's YOUR responsibility to do so... get caught? get a ticket...

Don't violate traffic laws, don't get pulled over. "Everyone else was doing it" only shows that you knew it was wrong and you did it anyway.

Originally posted by Magnum007
come on, people break the law all the time, and most of the year we turn our heads the other way without giving tickets...

So what if they give tickets in a "blitz" for 1 day? nobody is making anything up, they are doing their job without using their discretionary powers; you're caught doing something and breaking the law, you get a ticket...

what's wrong with that? don't want a ticket, then don't speed, do your stops, and follow the rules of the road... it's YOUR responsibility to do so... get caught? get a ticket...

That has to be one of the most ridiculous things I have heard in response to something I find disconcerting about law enforcement. So you are saying that taxpayers are paying cops to not do their job most of the year making it easier for them to give tickets when they "decide" to do their job because they have allowed us to break the law for so long.

So wrong on so many levels.....great example for kids to look up to. Shuck your job for most of the year then play catch up at the end....sounds more like laziness, inefficiency and manipulation to me.

Originally posted by Magnum007
come on, people break the law all the time, and most of the year we turn our heads the other way without giving tickets...

So what if they give tickets in a "blitz" for 1 day?

So then we can easily save tons of money by cutting police positions drastically? Maybe dropping them all down to 10 hours a week?

This sort of explains why relatively benign situations get slammed with an overwhelming cop presence so regularly. They just dont have anything else to do.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere

Originally posted by Magnum007
come on, people break the law all the time, and most of the year we turn our heads the other way without giving tickets...

So what if they give tickets in a "blitz" for 1 day?

So then we can easily save tons of money by cutting police positions drastically? Maybe dropping them all down to 10 hours a week?

This sort of explains why relatively benign situations get slammed with an overwhelming cop presence so regularly. They just dont have anything else to do.

And if they didn't show in force when you needed them, you'd be complaining then too.

Originally posted by MattNC

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere

Originally posted by Magnum007
come on, people break the law all the time, and most of the year we turn our heads the other way without giving tickets...

So what if they give tickets in a "blitz" for 1 day?

So then we can easily save tons of money by cutting police positions drastically? Maybe dropping them all down to 10 hours a week?

This sort of explains why relatively benign situations get slammed with an overwhelming cop presence so regularly. They just dont have anything else to do.

And if they didn't show in force when you needed them, you'd be complaining then too.

That's a fallacy predicated on a false assumption and not a real response. If you knew my family you'd not only it is a fallacy but it's quite directly false. By the time they arrived when we once thought we needed them the situation was resolved. Since that incident they have never been wanted or sought. At best they just complicate things.

If anything it's an admission that an unnecessary number of officers are laying in wait just in case. Pretty wasteful for cash strapped municipalities.

Bad Cops!

No Donuts!

(or pizza)!

Its funny how everyone preaches that "when you need em what are you gunna do?" crap.
Its funny because everytime I needed them, they were nowhere to be found, and everytime I didnt need them, there they were to pop me with 5 mph over the speed limit.
Cops dont prevent JACK in the real world.
They should stick to the criminals. Not the family in the mini van.

The law enforcement policy needs to be changed. Too many cops getting caught up doing stupid $@#$ these days. Yet the public pays for it.

Well as long as they're valid tickets. They do let minor things slide, let's be honest. If they really wanted to they could issue hundreds of tickets a day for "rolling stops" or speeding alone.

I hope the pizza was decent at least and not any of that Domino's crap.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere

Originally posted by MattNC

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere

Originally posted by Magnum007
come on, people break the law all the time, and most of the year we turn our heads the other way without giving tickets...

So what if they give tickets in a "blitz" for 1 day?

So then we can easily save tons of money by cutting police positions drastically? Maybe dropping them all down to 10 hours a week?

This sort of explains why relatively benign situations get slammed with an overwhelming cop presence so regularly. They just dont have anything else to do.

And if they didn't show in force when you needed them, you'd be complaining then too.

That's a fallacy predicated on a false assumption and not a real response. If you knew my family you'd not only it is a fallacy but it's quite directly false. By the time they arrived when we once thought we needed them the situation was resolved. Since that incident they have never been wanted or sought. At best they just complicate things.

If anything it's an admission that an unnecessary number of officers are laying in wait just in case. Pretty wasteful for cash strapped municipalities.

edit on 30-3-2012 by thisguyrighthere because: brain fart

So you want them like volunteer fireman or something? Or how about like temporary workers so you can flex headcount up and down as needed. Hmmm... might impact the quality of service just a little.

Reply to post by MattNC

Seems to work alright for fire departments.

They even arrive on scene faster.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by Common Good
They should stick to the criminals. Not the family in the mini van.

So Mom or Dad are incapable of transgressing traffic laws and putting their family and others in danger?

Like the member said above, if you don't want a ticket, drive accordingly.

Reply to post by intrepid

That line of thinking is operating under the assumption that a posted speed limit creates safety.

One only has to look at the statistics of the Autobahn to see that this is not necessarily true.

It's easy to argue that police enforcement "makes us safe" because it is seen as an obvious truth on one side and fear keeps any thought or study of the other side from ever happening.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

I'm sure they love pizza.

You can't just tease a fat kid with cake...

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Reply to post by intrepid

 

That line of thinking is operating under the assumption that a posted speed limit creates safety.

It does. That's why you will see speed limits change occasionally. The Autobahn? Do a Google image search and you can see that no one could possibly survive the wrecks that you'll see there.