It’s not like that everywhere, and there’s no reason something as simple as this couldn’t be changed. Yes, it’s fighting the tide, but it’s doable IMO.
Having discretion is one thing. Using it to benefit a specific class of people is another altogether. Discretion should be used if the officer believes that circumstances warrant it. Being a cop or a doctor should not be such a circumstance.
Similarly, Baltimore City cops park wherever they damn well please… places where I’ve gotten tickets for parking.
Getting back to the OP, how is this corruption? Corruption would be if the cop was getting twenty dollars for not writing a ticket. Presumedly other cops are being let off for free. What the OP is describing is collusion.
It’s like that everywhere I have ever been.
Yeah, and Freemason cops are not going to ticket other Freemasons. It’s the way of the world. A friend of mine’s cousin has a card signed by the chief of police of a major metro area locally, when in that area, he can ask the cop to call the chief of police, and the chief will authorize him to drop the charges.
You also know that if you have an up to date PBA card you’re less likely to get a ticket right? Just keep it under your driver’s license so that it will be displayed when you pull your license out.
Cops don’t ticket other cops, that’s pretty much SOP.
I agree. But that’s not discretionary enforcement. That’s simply favoritism. In fact, I would argue that they have little discretion in the matter if it’s SOP. A cop who ticketed other cops would not last long.
Valid point.
It’s simply not true that all cops don’t ticket other cops. If it were, there wouldn’t be that website where cops can anonymously complain when they get tickets issued by other cops (anyone have the link?) I know some cops and they won’t always let it slide for other cops. Some do, some don’t.
It’s a nasty situation, and it’s one that can be reversed, IMO.
I tried looking it up a few days ago and all I could come up with was that it was probably a hoax.
Speeding is the very least thing cops will let other cops get away with.
While this doesn’t really bother me…I consider it a fact of life.
I have been pulled over for speeding/moving violations 5 times in my life. Each time I was given a ticket. Once was for going 59 in a 55. A coworker of mine says she has been pulled over about 12 times in her life…and has been given a warning/no ticket everytime.
Why? Because she is very attractive. Downright hot. I am a dumpy middle age guy…coincidence? Right.
As I get older, I think this discretion should be looked at for elimination or sting operations with severe penalties for those policeman stung in them.
Is this the sky is falling!!!? No. I don’t think about it much. However, my respect for police is lower than it could be. Now, you may think BIG DEAL…Bduck has lower respect. However, I’m sure there are many in my same situation…and lack of respect for police overall does have a negative effect on society.
I mean, how can I have repsect for laws that it is perfectly ok for people to not be punished for? How can I respect laws that they tell me make me a dangerous person and I should be punished/ashamed when a police officer or his brother or his friend can break the same laws and it is thought of as no big deal?
That’s the one good thing I can think of for camera’s taking snap-shots of speeders. At least those don’t discriminate.
I’m actually OK with this in theory, but in current practice I think it goes a bit too far.
Office politics can get pretty harsh in an ordinary job. They would be 10x worse in a situation where coworkers have the ability to impose fines and legal hassles upon each other. In a job that depends on teamwork in real life or death situations, the increased tension isn’t worth it just to enforce the more minor infractions.
However, I agree that the current practice steps over the line. There’s a difference between erring on the side of leniancy for minor infractions by coworkers and giving out-of-state officers free reign to break any and all traffic rules.
I gave an on duty officer a citation. He was involved in a minor accident where he was at fault. Had I not written the ticket the Chief would have chewed my ass something fierce and wrote the cite himself. But an accident is a different situation than a stop. Especially when a department vehicle is involved. But had he been off duty I still would have had to have written the cite.
About 15 years ago myself and 4 other officers were on our way to some specialized training in a marked squad and in full uniform (I wasn’t driving). A state trooper pulled us over and said our vehicle was speeding without using the lights/siren. We even gave him the “aw c’mon. Be a guy!” schpiel but he still wrote the driver. You can imagine what the conversation in that car was like after he let us drive off.
I can tell you as a fact they do this. I worked at at a hotel and we employed off duty Chicago cops as security on weekends. Once in a while one would give me a lift in his car. This is his PERSONAL car and he is NOT in uniform.
Twice the cop (different one each time) got stopped for speeding. He simply showed his ID and the cop let him go.
But that’s how it is in Chicago. If you work for the Chicago Transit Authority, the bus drivers and such let you ride for free. They shouldn’t but they do.
When I used to work overnights in hotels, the first thing I did was make friends with the cops, especially in hotels that had no security. This way the cops would hang around. I worked for a Sheraton Suites, heck I let the cops go into the kitchen at night and fix themselves food. (A housecleaner and myself were the only people on property from 1am - 5am).
Cops have a lot of discretion, for instance, if they see a car run a red light, you may not see them give a ticket, 'cause that car could be scoping out drug deals in a nearby park.
They don’t HAVE to give a ticket always, they can use their discretion, so it would be useless to complain, because the cop can always come up with a reason WHY they didn’t give the ticket.
If you are a member of the FDNY in NYC, you can get on the subway for free.
Yeah, well, it seems that their discretion sucks. Why should attractive people or white people or doctors get fewer speeding tickets? It is a net economic disadvantage to all other drivers.
The boat in question is on the 500 block of Webster, is huge and partially blocks a fire hydrant. It has one of those annoying boat names like Wet Dream, or some such. You could probably see it from Google Earth, or the space station.
Some years ago we had a nextdoor neighbor who was a single mother, and quite attractive. She also was*** very*** friendly with the local policemen. Rarely was there a night when a police car wasn’t parked in front of her house in the wee hours of the morning. I tell ya, we had the best police protection in the city until she unfortunately moved away.
My ex gf is a gorgeous big boobied blonde who happens to work in law enforcement, she gets tickets ALL the freaking time. I think she missed school the day they explained that isn’t supposed to happen.