Why do local law enforcement care more about catching speeders than murderers?

Question

It has come to my attention a lot of studies out there that prove people who drive fast are safer drivers than those who drive the exact speed limit and slam on their brakes if they see a leaf pass by their window. I know the government brings money in for speeding tickets, but I think its stupid. If our local law enforcement spent as much time and money trying to catch murderers and other dangerous crimes than we would be a lot safer than we are today. I also do not believe a speed limit makes things safer. I know I am going to get extremist answering this question asking me if its okay to do 100 MPH in a school zone, and that is not what I am talking about. 55 MPH on a highway when majority of the people arent even going that slow is stupid. My point is, police need to spend more time catching real criminals, people who speed are not criminals.

All the attitude here from "officers" answering a question online proves they are all power hungry people who abuse power.

Answer 1

It's kind of an apples and oranges situation, but anyone who breaks the law is a criminal regardless of the offense. The police, depending on the size of the city or jurisdiction, have different departments of varying sizes handling different tasks.

A patrol officer will be assigned duties including catching speeders. They are supposed to be more of a deterrent to speeding, but the money they bring in is substantial and contributes to the court system and the department in turn. It's usually up to the department head as to how they want to press their officers to maintain a high traffic ticket count for the sake of revenue.

Detectives, on the other hand, are trained investigators and are assigned to cases of a more serious nature. They investigate murders, rape, and many more serious crimes. Using a detective to catch speeders would be a waste of resources as would using patrol officers to try and solve major crimes. They both have their respective places and purposes. Just remember that the money collected for offenses such as speeding are funneled back into the general fund and police budget and that is used to pay to have enough officers to investigate the major crimes. Without one, we would either not have the other or our taxes would be raised to pay for it anyway and you would still have money coming out of your pocket. Don't get caught speeding and you can let the other speeders pay for the detectives. Get caught and you will just be contributing your share to keeping detectives on the payroll.

Answer 2

In reference to your first statement about a lot of studies prove people who drive fast are safer drivers, where's the links that you found this info. Just from my experience not as a deputy but personal experience a lot of people that I know have been killed in a vehicle accident because of speed. There are detectives that handle homicides and other major cases like robberies and they work mainly on trying to solve these cases. The road deputies are the ones that respond first to secure the scene for the detectives. It is not as easy as you think it is to solve cases. When something like an armed robbery happens and there are people around no one ever sees or hears anything. A lot of witnesses are very uncooperative with the detectives and do not want to get involved, when they should because they are the first ones to complain that we are not doing our job. I believe this world would be a lot safer if people would teach their children the difference from right and wrong at an early age. I have seen children as young as 8 years old beat up their parents and I don't understand how someone could not control an 8 year old child. So I think you need to blame the parents of these criminals and not law enforcement for the world not being a safe place because we are not babysitters. Where I live there is probably one deputy for every 4-5 thousand citizens so we have a lot of ground to cover and people to protect and we can't be in two places at once so yes crime will happen but learn how to discipline your children and this place would be safer. Our road units do not have time to radar and write tickets so the ones you see writing tickets and radaring are most likely traffic units or road units on their days off trying to make some extra cash because we dont get paid enough to babysit or take all the criticism that we get when we put our lives in danger everyday for you and your family. And no, we dont get paid for how many tickets we write but for the hours we put in just like any normal job would when you work overtime.

Answer 3

When a person commits a murder the chance are high that he will catch his self, through evidence which makes it easier for the police.

Speeding on the other hand is something that was studied way before you and I was born. It showed why people were getting into more and more accident, injuries and death. The reason they have speed limits is to prevent people with less experience driving and unlicensed drivers from committing homicide. It's just a gesture of sharing the roads with strangers and everyone getting along without supervision. Because not everybody that drive should be driving even some people with license's.

Answer 4

You must live in a fantasy world. I've worked the streets for nearly 30 years and many of those years were working traffic.
I've NEVER seen any evidence that 'faster drivers are safer drivers', I think that's one of your fantasies.
I've worked major accidents that have resulted in the deaths of many people, and second only to intoxicated drivers, Speed is the major reason for those deaths.
Whether you like it or not, Speed limits ARE the law and those who don't comply are committing a criminal offense.
Secondly, addressing your question. 'Why don't they go out and catch real criminals?'
I've arrested murderers, drug dealers, bank robbers, child molesters, sexual predators, weapons dealers, members of organized crime and hundreds of others over the years, just by working traffic.
Asking a traffic officer 'why don't you go arrest real criminals?' proves you have no idea of what you're talking about.
Thirdly, revenue is not my concern. I don't care if these people pay one cent. My job as a traffic officer was to make the streets and roadways safer, especially from idiots who think that speeders who threaten each of us when they violate the law are good guys.
Grow up, pee wee.

Answer 5

Revenue is the main factor, but a lot of times, stopping someone for speeding is just a way to randomnly check speeders for other violations, outstanding warrants, etc.. It's that old adage that a law-breaker in one area is most likely a law-breaker in another area. And if they are not observing the speed limit, then they may be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs or may be fleeing a crime scene. I was stopped recently for speeding and wasn't driving. Three patrol cars showed up, they brought out the drug dog and claimed that the dog indicated that there were drugs in the vehicle. "Wanna fess-up now? Sum'n you wanna tell us?" As if. No drugs in the car, of course, and they let us go without issuing a citation for the speeding offense even though the guy driving was doing about 24 over the limit.

Answer 6

1.) Tickets bring in revenue.
2.) Murderers take revenue from tickets in the form of prison expenses.
3.) It's a lot easier to catch a speeder than a murderer.
4.) The fact that you might get a ticket is supposed to be the reason that you slow down to a safe speed.
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People would obey the speed limit if they had to be towed in back five miles or held for 30 minutes if they got cought speeding. They should also have a sign that pops up on the back of the police car that tells who it is that is pulled over and flashes "I'm Rob Roy Fingerhead and I'm a big fat speeder." That would be cool.

Answer 7

oddly enuff i was actually gonna go to college to be an officer. I dont trust them tho. the police around here try to catch the easiest solution to a situation and that may not be the right one. For example, someone is killed, and the person who found the body is automatically the main suspect. If they are walkin alone to where the body is, they have no alliby. Therefore the police work hard at finding a motive for the person. Meanwhile, the real culprit goes free and gets farther and farther with each minute. Im sorry i just have a grudge against them that is all.

Answer 8

MONEY, plain and simple
As far as fast drivers are better drivers I'm not sold on that claim.
How many young teen drivers are realy that experianced to be safe for hi speeds?
Many Hi-Ways are designd for a certain speed or slower , so pushing it could be quite dangerous .
When everyone else is doing the posted speed and you are doing (let's say) 15mph over , someone is going to get close .

Answer 9

For years, I have been looking for the place where it says "suggested speed limit 65". There are a lot more speeders than murderers and it's hard to catch a killer on a radar gun. It's not speeders, necessarily, that kill people, it's speeders text messaging other idiots at 75 miles an hour. We have become not so much a nation of lawbreakers as we are law ignorers, and we have so many of them that you couldn't walk across the street without breaking one or more

Answer 10

If you think you are a safer and better driver when speeding you are fooling yourself, sorry thing is you wont realize it until you are dead after you were going to fast to stop in time for something in front of you.

Police stopping your dumb *** for speeding has probably saved your life a few times......

My guess is you have received to many speeding tickets to count.