For most citizens, a traffic stop might be their only encounter with a police officer. These are the same folks who vote and serve on juries. As a uniformed traffic cop, you represent our whole profession to them. That one encounter will establish their opinion of every law enforcement officer for years to come. Scratching out citations like a dispassionate Robocop pisses off the public. It is undignified and counterproductive to our primary mission. We are not toll collectors. We don’t need to create new adversarial relationships. People love to talk about their contacts with us. They will not accurately report their own responsibility when telling their story. They will talk about how they felt and express their opinion of the motivation of the LEO who stopped them. I recently saw a local television news story boasting of a week-long ticket blitz by the New York State Police. Sure enough, I saw radar cars set up almost every 10 miles along the Thruway, writing “gotcha” speeding tickets to impress administrators with stats. No real safety purpose was served with this campaign, and the cost to our reputation with the public was great. We want people to trust us and have confidence in our laws. Playing these games wastes resources. It reinforces fear of police and an adversarial relationship. It’s just wrong.

Scratching out citations like a dispassionate Robocop pisses off the public. It is undignified and counterproductive to our primary mission.

Is traffic enforcement really your true passion as a law enforcement officer? Most of us would say no. It is merely a necessary function of patrol and an easy way to document activity. Police work is a lot more than uniformed traffic enforcement, but that is where many of us begin our careers. It is also the most visible police presence to the public. Traffic stops are great ways to find more serious criminal activity, including drunks, drugs and outstanding warrants.

For those who feel a genuine calling for saving lives by reducing crashes on the roads and highways, I salute you. But I respectfully suggest you reconsider whether the techniques you most commonly use are the best, most efficient methods for achieving that noble goal. If you run a radar in a comfortable “cherry patch,” where the speed limit is lower than motorists expect, I contend you are being used as a revenue agent. If you really want to save lives on the highway, perhaps your efforts are better spent bird-dogging red-light runners at an intersection with a high crash history or left-lane squatters who are oblivious to the chaos they cause behind them.

Tickets are quite expensive but cost far more than the fine. Increased insurance rates follow, and accumulated points can lead to the suspension of a driver’s license. These costs disproportionately affect folks at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum, making traffic laws inherently regressive. Unpaid fines become criminal warrants just because drivers are overwhelmed by compounding costs they cannot afford. We know that a good percentage of those who flee from a traffic stop do so because they have outstanding traffic warrants, suspensions, failures to appear, unpaid fines or other crimes that are only due to an inability to pay traffic fines. We have plenty of genuine criminal bad guys to apprehend without creating more artificial ones with traffic laws.

Consider using these traffic stops as an opportunity to create positive public relations. If no criminal behavior is present, offer friendly advice on safety or driver education and leave the motorist with the impression that you really are a professional who is serious about your oath to “protect and serve” the public. Don’t be an NPC Robocop. You’re better than that! Take care of yourself and stay safe.