As a former Chief of Police, I agree with your assertion that speeding tickets are an accepted method of generating revenue for many municipalities. IMHO, one of the benefits of law enforcement as a career is the ability to use discretion to accomplish the mission (of public safety). I, for one, NEVER stopped a car for exceeding the speed limit by less than 15mph and the normal result was a written warning (unless the driver was a total jackass -- some people work so hard at getting a ticket it is almost a shame not to give them one for their efforts). Why? Because I routinely exceed the posted speed limit by around 10mph in non-residential areas and refused to be a hypocrite. That, however, was the way that I chose to conduct business and is not by any means the norm within the law enforcement community. In my case, I not only refused to be a part of a municipal revenue generation machine but I did not allow my officers to do so either. Additionally, I endeavored to hire officers who came equipped with common sense and not some of the more robotic types with chips on their shoulders that unfortunately populate many police agencies. Again this was my professional philosophy and was one that was not necessarily shared by my law enforcement executive peers. My point in saying all of this is that (much like any other profession) the law enforcement field is made up of individuals and, as such, does not lend itself to broad characterizations of the people who have chosen that vocation. When you say that you “would have more respect for police if” they did something differently, please remember that there exists a silent majority of law enforcement officers out there who are doing tremendous job of keeping you and your communities safe under less than ideal working conditions. Unfortunately, because these officers are generally otherwise engaged in what I would characterize as “real police work” (i.e. the handling of crimes v. conducting routine traffic enforcement), they are not encountered nearly as often by the general motoring public. Now that I have uncloaked and revealed myself as someone with a law enforcement background I expect that the flames are not far behind but I felt that the point needed to be made.

Donning fire retardant gear now…