what do you think of cops who...?

Question

What do you think of cops who sit in one place with a radar gun ticketing people who speed?I personally think police departments need to focus more of there time dealing with real criminals then people who are driving 5-10 mph over the speed limit When I go to work each morning I pass a police car with a radar gun in the same exact place every day one on the north side of the road and a few miles down one on the south side of the road just sitting there waiting to issue tickets.
Why do police departments insist on having cops sit there waiting to give someone a speeding ticket when these same cops should be out doing real police work. Sitting around issuing speeding tickets is not police work..do cops really go into the police academy hoping that they can sit around waiting for people to speed by them, if I were a cop I would feel degrated knowing that all that training did was wasted on giving out speeding tickets Police Departments should have the meter maids issuing tickets!

Answer 1

Your question does not deserve an answer, but here I go anyway.

Websters defines CRIMINAL as a person who commits a crime and defines CRIME as an act committed or omitted in violation of the law. So when an Officer stops a vehicle for speeding they are out there catching "REAL CRIMINALS."

I am tired of hearing in here (Yahoo Answers) and out on the street (When I have someone stopped for speeding) that I should be out there catching murders, child molesters, bank robbers, etc. Well guess what. Those people you want me to be catching instead of stopping you do not wear signs saying "Arrest me, I'm a real criminal!!!" No those criminals look just like everyone else. They look just like you.

I use traffic stops like speeding, fail to signal, defective equipment, as a pre-text stop. I use them as tools of my trade to get up close and personal with people on the street to try and catch those so called "real criminals." Once I have you stopped I take all that training you were talking about me wasting and start trying to develop probable cause to arrest you. I do this in a variety of ways all at once and if your are not one of those real criminals, you probably don't even know whats really going on at the time.

I use my sences to detect plain view contraband by sniffing out alcohol or drugs. I also check for open containers or drug residue or paraphernalia laying around in the interior of the vehicle. My dispatchers (God Bless Them) are running your plates, drivers license, and and any names I give them through a battery of checks and test to see if they are stolen, valid, or wanted.

Then while I'm waiting on my Angel of a dispatcher to tell me what they have discovered, I'm engaging you in small talk. Every thing I say and ask you about is further developing my probable cause. I will ask you things like "Where are you going tonight, where are you coming from, who is this with you, how long are you going to stay, is this your car, etc. Then I will speak with yoour passengers and see if they give the same answers.

If everything checks out, I will write you a ticket or a warning and send you on your way. If not, well now I guess you are a real criminal and guess what? I just caught you!!!!

Do you remember the Oklahoma City Bomber? Are you glad he was arrested so that he could not do it again to hundreds more. Guess what? He was arrested on a routine traffic stop. By an Officer who took all his training and a simple stop to the next level. There were no APB's (All Post Bullitins) or BOLO's (Be on the look out) for his vehicle. That is an Officer at his best doing what he was trained to do.

Remember that when an officer stops a vehicle, they do not know who is in it. Or what the person stopped is capable of. So while we are running all the checks, we are also trying to keep an eye out for that sudden movement.

Now lets get back on the topic of speeding. Do you work for the Department of Transpertation for your State? If not, then who are you to determine what is a safe speed for the street you are traveling down. The speed limits are there for a reason. To make sure everyone on them or crossing them is as safe as they can be. Once you exceed the speed limit you are putting others at risk. Countless people, children, pets, and property are killed, injured, or damaged every day due to people speeding.

Have you ever been involved in a traffic accident? Was the other person at fault? Was speed the contributing factor? 9 times out of 10 it is. Don't you wish that there was an officer out that day stopping this speeder that just caused you pain, a damaged vehicle, and an upset in your life while you wait to heal and have your vehicle repaired.

People speed for a variety of reasons. Some people are just not paying attention, some people are running late, and some people just don't care. Then again some people just robbed a bank, just shot their wife, just did a drive by shooting, just stole the car they are in, etc.

So the next time you want to cry about Officers not doing their job, wasting your tax dollors, picking on the good citizens, remember that we are trying to do the best job we can, while obeying the laws (Even though the criminals are beraking every law to get away) that we are trying to uphold, making sure that I get home safe each night to my family. The whole time taking insults from people like you.

Now I know I'm not going to get a best answer from you, but I don't care. I already have a 61% best answer rating.

Have A Good Day. I hope the Officer that gave you your speeding ticket also told you to have a good day :)

Answer 2

There are more than likely other cops dealing with other crimes! I Maybe it's an area with a lot of kids and they want people to drive the speed limit so that they can keep the kids and people safer! Dont know if u have kids or not, but lets say a kid was crossing the street and gets hit from someone speeding (God forbid) that same incident a child crossing he street someone goin the speed limit can see the child and stop on time before it's too late! So it's good that cops are actually patrolling that specific area!
Or they could be there cause there have been many wrecks in that area so they r patrolling for that reason!
just think about stuff, there could be many reason of why they r sittin there!

Answer 3

Traffic stops have the potential for being very dangerous. Many officers have been killed on the job during traffic stops. There are many times you will get an impaired driver or a stoned driver or someone wanted on a warrant. You need trained, armed officers doing this job, not "meter maids".

Speed kills.

It really is as simple as that. Radar enforcement slows people down... less speed = fewer accidents. Writing tickets is generally not the most favourite activity of most officers, but I do understand that I may actually saving someones life indirectly, by giving out speeding tickets. Most police services have a traffic branch. Their sole responsibility is to deal with traffic and give out tickets. Other patrol officers deal with the calls for service and will hand out the occasional ticket when they observe a violation.

I am a general patrol officer. Can you guess what the number one complaint I get from the average citizens I talk to everyday?

*****People speeding/driving erratically through their neighbourhood******

Answer 4

Your opinion suggeests you believe that what you see on TV is the way police should act. They basic motto of Law Enforcement is 'To Protect and Serve'. Public Safety is the main priority. If a person was speeding and caused a serious accident and drove off do you think the officer responding should chase the offender or stop and determine the condition of the victim? They will stop to check on the victim and report to their command the last known direction of travel and description of the offender. Secondary officers will pursue the offender.

When you see a police officer running radar in the same spot it is because there is a history of violators and most likely accident statistics to show a need for enforcement. I believe that radar works and am in favor of radar cameras that issue tickets to the registerd owner of a vehicle that was recorded speeding or running red lights. Of course there would need to be oversight and routine certification of the equipment used but studies show that this type of enforcement does reduce violation and most importantly accidents and injuries and fatalities.

I sense from your tone in your question you have a dislike for law enforcemnet in general. But try to remove your emotion for a minute and consider the safety impact of their enforcement. Do you slow down when you see an officer running radar? Slowing down enables you more time to react to unforseen events. I hope this helps and you will see that Police Officers are simply ordinary people put in extraordinary situation that you and I may take for granted.

That being said if you truly believe an Officer is abusing their authority you can report them anonymously to their agancy.

Answer 5

You do know that many times the reason we are there over and over again is because residents in the area complain right?

As a law enforcement Officer I can't even begin to tell you how traffic stops for minor violations turn into capturing hardcore criminals. Here is another point. In my town we have an intersection that rates as one of the highest for traffic accidents in the state. The number 1 reason causing these accidents from statistics is excessive speed. Seeing that a Police agency’s responsibility is to provide safety for its residents as well as visitors don't you think we have an obligation to stop people speeding at this intersection to lower the amount of accidents? Of course we do. This doesn't mean we always have to write tickets but even a warning will educate the driver as to the dangers.

Answer 6

Tickets bring in revenue to help the municipality meet budget. Speed limits are laws. By pulling someone over who is speeding, the officer may also come across someone who is wanted, or they might have drugs in the car, or they might be drunk, any of which would lead to an arrest, which gets a "bad guy" off the street. Isn't that "real" police work?

Also they wouldn't be sitting there if it wasn't a good spot to catch speeders. Ever see somebody go back to a spot on a lake where they never caught any fish?

Answer 7

Don't exaggerate. They most likely are not stopping cars for 5-10mph over unless there its a school zone or small kids are all over the place. I agree that a department should not focus on writing tickets, however many times people that live in a neighborhood call to complain about cars speeding. They expect something done and rightfully so.

Answer 8

Well, actually, the police officer on patrol are doing their job. The "real" police work of going after drug dealers and other criminal is handled by different officers in the department.

Another reason to be sitting where they are is to get people to slow down. Just seeing a police car makes everyone slow down. You never know, the idiot behind you who was doing 80 may have slowed down, and now won't lose control of his car and take you out when he does. There are many times when they are sitting there, and the radar isn't even on. They are just there to be seen. People slow down, and hopefully accidents are avoided.

And no, officer do not go to the academy wanting to sit on the side of the road waiting to give a ticket. They also don't go to the academy to have to respond to an accident where an adult and two children were killed by the guy doing 85 who lost control of his car.

Answer 9

As you can see, based upon the responses you've gotten...traffic enforcement is a very important issue to the majority of drivers! As a law enforcement officer for 35 years, I've seen too many injuries and fatalities associated with aggressive driving habits. Having to go to the family members with such devestating news is one of the hardest things an officer has to deal with of which the general public doesn't always see!

One must also realize that MOST departments have "divisions" which specialize in specific areas of law enforcement. There are traffic, criminal investigations, narcotic investigations, school resource, and a miriad of others. So just because you see officers working traffic, does not mean they are ignoring other "more serious crimes!"

It sounds to me like the officers working traffic enforcement in the area you describe are there because there is a problem with people wanting to ignore driving in a safe and prudent manner.

Instead of thinking "traffick enforcement" is not a part of police work, you should be happy that they are attempting to make the roadway a safer place for you to drive!

Answer 10

We live in a quiet neighborhood but our road is often used as a shortcut. Last year we had 5 dogs, 2 cats, and a person killed by sppeding cars. Our speed limit is 35 but most people do 60+ on our road. The local neighbors take turns calling to make sure our neighborhood is patrolled. We have offered to do a citizens arrest type set up but state law requires the local sheriff's office to handle speeders, the state troopers aren't even allowed to issue tickets on our county road. Speed on the interstate if you like but obey the speed limit on the little roads. Life goes to fast to always be in a hurry.

Answer 11

My department has their own "Traffic unit". So if you see someone giving out tickcts in my area, it is because that is their main function. The typical patrol Officer goes about his day handling calls for service, but will write a ticket if they see a dangerous moving violation happen in front of them.

Since establishing a large traffic unit, the fatal collisions have decreased every year. Less people are dying and more people are getting tickects. Which do you prefer? Ticket or death?