Text 8 (Questions 1-5)

Traffic ticket quotas — a practice in which police officers are either pressured or strictly required to issue a certain number of traffic tickets in a certain time frame — were once kept under wraps but are now pretty much out in the open. Some police departments deny that they have ever engaged in the practice, while others staunchly defend it. Many wonder why the police want to increase the public’s distrust in it and why police officers want to spend time making traffic stops for weak accusations of minor offenses, which often need to be defended in court. All that raising the question – couldn’t all that time and effort and manpower be better spent actually protecting and serving?

Unfortunately, the response is a common one, it all comes down to money. Plenty of police departments around the United States are facing higher expenses and smaller budgets, and have come to see traffic tickets as a way to increase revenue. For example, writing more tickets and collecting more fines if the department needs money to buy equipment or give raises or pay pensions.

It actually seems like a pretty simple solution, at least on the surface, but it’s problematic. Traffic ticket fines are supposed to be a deterrent and a punishment, not a way to balance the budget. But police officers are under much pressure in some cities, that they have been caught writing fake tickets or have come forward to say they’re uncomfortable with the tactics they’re instructed to use, such as intimidating motorists and writing tickets based on a very eak questionable scenario.

The state of Illinois is noted for passing a law banning the implementation of traffic ticket quotas, but plenty of other cities and towns say that’s simply not an option. They need the money they collect from all those tickets, and the more money they get accustomed to rack up, the more they’ll need in the future, so this practice is unlikely to change anytime soon.

Source: how stuff works?