If a cop doesn't ticket everybody he possibly can that speeds, is he a bad cop?

Question

My friend says that since it is a police officer's job to enforce the law, and that going 1 mile over the speed limit is against the law, the police officer should pull them over and give them a ticket or he(she) is not doing his job. My argument is that they have to use their judgement because if they waste their time on the first speeder they see every time, they will miss all the worst ones. He says that if they pulled over everyone they could, no one would speed anymore. I don't believe this, I think that people will always assume they won't be the one to get caught. Besides, cops can't waste their time on the smallest offenses these days. Someone please help settle this.

Answer 1

You are right and your friend is wrong --- dead wrong !!
A major portion of a police officer's job has to do with public relations as WELL as upholding, defending, and enforcing the LAW !! And, it is just THAT kind of attitude (that your friend is proporting) that will leave the public at large with major negative feelings about the police !! And, with rampant negative vibes in the works ABOUT them -- it makes their job considerably harder to do !!
There are definite reasons why there is "latitude" in the enforcement of law --- among the other reasons for this being the case in traffic enforcement is the fact that the equipment itself is not SO dead on accurate that one can say each and every time that that silly couple of mph over is straight up --on the money !! Equipment of this type has to be consistantly "calibrated" and "certified" to be as accurate as it IS !! Then, there is the FACT that YOU bring out about the enforcement of the trivial against the enforcement effienciency of time on larger infractions !!

There are ALL types of people who are police officers -- people who are rock solid gold and ones that are major trash !! My Father was a cop for over twenty years (he is NOW a month from being 96 years of age) and, he puts it the best that I have ever heard it stated ---- he says ----
"whatever a person is at heart when they pin on that badge -- THAT times ten is what kind of officer they are going to BE -- If they happen to be a rock solid, good-hearted person interested in people and "the right thing" --- they will be THAT times ten with the badge ---- BUT --- if they are a swaggering, self-centered little demigod --- THAT times ten is what they'll BE --- saddest part IS -- people don't seem to remember the GOOD guys much -- they just feel that THAT is the way it should BE --- BUT -- they'll ALWAYS remember that little snipe of a "toughguy" who pushed them around -- and they'll judge the police BY HIM for YEARS AFTERWARD !!

So -- a GOOD police officer is one who does his job and ALSO has some real discretion in the way that he does it --- and does his best to do right by the law and the people he serves !! And, that means having a little "give" in the works -- for he knows that none of us is PERFECT -- not even HIM !!!

Answer 2

Speeding is not a judgement call if they speed they should get a ticket that is his responsibility, he is right, if the man power was there everyone should get pulled over and they would slow down. I wish cops would spend there times on small offenses, you would not believe the accidents now for speeding, running a red light, not using a turn signal, no concept of what the word YIELD means. I can not tell you how many times officers put on speed traps on an interstate and for the next few days your regular drivers slow down. Your friend is a good cop and you need to take his advise. It is people like you that make his job and the job of the officer above me on this list more difficult than it needs to be. And then you could complain that your local governments shhould have no excuse to pay for things because of the revenues the officers hard work brings in.

Answer 3

How about we compare this to something else, to put it in perspective.

I enjoy fishing. But I have other committments too, so I can't be fishing all the time. Once I get caught up on all my other responsibilites, then I can spend some time fishing.

And when I am fishing, I like to catch fish. Some I keep, the little ones get thrown back. And no matter how hard I try, I never catch ALL the fish. It wouldn't be reasonable for me to expect to catch all the fish, would it?

No, I'm not making fun of your question, I just think most people do not fully understand a police officer's job. Maybe this analogy will put it into perspective.

Answer 4

Hi Dylan,
Going 1 mile over the speed limit is not reckless. Police Officers probably don't want to waste paperwork and time trying to catch the person(s) going 1 mile over the speed limit. There are others that are being reckless every day, every minute of the day, and robberies etc., that if they start bogging down on people going over the speed limit just one mile over, that will take them away from crucial moments that need attention, like real speeders, murderers, domestic violence, etc. There is a great demand for police officers and the ratios between police officers and the rest of us, does not match up to where they can concentrate on frivolous violations like one mile over the speed limit. That's what you can tell your friend. Police Officers don't get paid enough for risking their lives to save ours and to protect ours. They should get paid like Doctors do. Seriously. Police Officers, and Fire Fighters, and Soldiers in the Military need to be paid more for their bravery and compassion to save/protect others. But they don't. And it's sad.
So I'm with you. Police Officers don't need to waste their time on poeple going over the speed limit just one mile an hour.

Answer 5

First.. its called effective use of police discretion.

Any officer that gives out tickets for 1 over is a bum. The point of traffic enforcement is to educate the public and to decrease crashes... Not just jam up people to generate numbers / stats. Also, in the state I work in... You can not be ticketed for any speed less than 6 over the limit. The first 5 over are free.

I stop many cars. As far as speeding I do not stop them for anything less than 15 over th limit.... unless its a school zone then its 10 over. Many do not get tickets. If your license and reg and insurance are all up snuff, you get a warning.

Unless........

You have a horrible attitude and want to give me grief for trying to slow you down. That's an instant ticket.

But, most of the time, its just good people not paying attention and they needed to be reminded to slow down, wear a seat belt and such.

You have a horrible attitude and do not understand and your getting jammed up. Be polite and know the error you committed, warning and on your way.

Answer 6

You are correct but also think that officers have discretion when stopping people.

It wouldn't be fair to ticket somebody trying to get their family member to the hospital yet wasn't going excessively over the limit or a like situation.

Additionally...officers know we ALL make mistakes. As such there is discretion or limits on speeding that many officers consider before issuing a ticket or warning.

In my own cases I allow 5mph in a residential area and 10mph on roadways over the limit. People will inadvertantly go a bit over or under. You can't be hard on honest mistakes.

If this doesn't do it for your friend....send me an email and I will further explain!

Best wishes.

Answer 7

Going one mile over the speed limit is, technically, against the law. However it's been commonly known that speedometers are not always accurate, and so they impose a 3-5 MPH tolerance. Anything 3-5 miles per hour over the speed limit will typically be thrown out in court. Also, while it is the officer's job to enforce the law, he is NOT required to charge every law breaker with a crime. It is his discretion whom to charge with what, and when, when a law is broken.

Answer 8

That's not possible because the variations in vehicle construction make for a variation in actual vehicle speed of up to 5mph. That's why you can get away with going 60 in a 55.

In addition cops normally only ticket people that are being stupid. Like going 70 in a 45 zone or 65 in a 55 zone.

Dave - man you gotta warn me before you say things like that. I almost had tea come out of my nose!

Answer 9

It's called selective enforcement.

It's not reasonable to expect police to ticket *everyone* that speeds.

There isn't enough tax money anywhere to support the number of cops that would be needed to have that level of enforcement.

EDITED: I resent that "puny charges" crack. Do you realize how many crimes have been solved by officers making "routine" traffic stops??? Just today, that rapist (um I mean "alleged" rapist) who raped that 3 year old girl in Nevada was caught - how? By an attentive cop who conducted a routine traffic stop because the guy's vehicle didn't have license plates. So, just shut the pie hole about cops protecting you, your kids, and everyone else.

Answer 10

Since it is entirely possible to have a defective speedometer in a car, our department policy is not to write anyone unless there are going more than 7 over. Most of us don't write unless they are going at least 10 over. Many times we'll stop them a issue a warning, and who knows, we might get lucky and get some drugs or a DUI out of it.