Ticket quotas represent another 'selective tax' on communities

By Rep. Neil Hansen

The inten

t and purpose of this commentary is not to -- in any way, shape or form -- exploit the misinformation that has been reported about the issue of ticket quotas in Ogden. Additionally, this commentary is not about being vindictive or in retaliation for lost elections, as some have accused or insinuated. My desire is to truly represent the people, which I believe comes through listening to the concerns and issues of the people and, taking action in doing things "for" them and not "to" them. Representing constituents is my only priority, and the issue of ticket quotas is one of the concerns that has come from people within our community.

In 2005, the issue of ticket quotas came up during a dispute between the Ogden city administration and the Ogden Police Association. During this dispute, a rental truck was parked on Harrison Boulevard that stated, "Welcome to Ogden, Home of Mayor Godfrey's Ticket Quotas." I received numerous calls from concerned citizens and police officers who thought ticket quotas were outlawed in the state of Utah. In researching this concern, I found that ticket quotas are not against the law in this state.

To date, most communities in Utah use specific criteria to evaluate the performance of their police officers. According to the performance criteria for police officers in Ogden, one component of the evaluation is based on the number of citations written. An officer who "averages less than three non-parking citations per day" is rated at a Level 1 (low). An officer who "averages more than eight citations per day, with six of the eight being hazardous citations" can achieve a Level 5 (high) rating.

Earlier this year, I ran legislation titled "Prohibition of Citation Quotas" and am running the bill again in the upcoming 2008 legislative session. For the record, this is not the first time this bill has been proposed. Rep. Dave Ure, R-Summit County, ran House Bill 342 in the 2000 general session.

It passed out of committee with a vote of 5 to 4, but the bill was pulled under the promise that a certain jurisdiction would abolish its practice of ticket quotas.

During the 2007 legislative session, while my bill was on the calendar, former Rep. Dave Ure said he supported the legislation again because ticket quotas were still a statewide problem.

Simply stated, this legislation prohibits a law enforcement agency from requiring its officers to issue a specific number of citations, complaints or warning notices within any specified time period.

It will not prohibit any agency from enforcing the law. In my mind, this legislation will support law enforcement officers focusing on protecting our safety, as opposed to meeting a quota for a performance evaluation.

In my opinion, if law enforcement agencies do not have a ticket quota in place, then this legislation will not have an impact on them. Thus, there is no need to worry about this legislation. However, some discussion has centered on the fact that law enforcement agencies are fearful of the amount of money their agencies will lose if this law is passed. If officers aren't writing citations, less revenue is being generated and collected.

I, myself, am quite concerned that another "selective tax" is being imposed on our communities in addition to the taxes already being collected to cover the public services we are receiving for our tax dollars.

Finally, in response to the Nov. 30 guest commentary, "Traffic enforcement a high priority," by Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham: I agree with a lot of what he wrote and applaud the efforts of the Roy Police Department to ensure its officers are enforcing the law.

I believe all law enforcement officers are "our finest" because of their dedication and loyalty to protect us from those who choose to commit crimes.

I also commend them for their willingness to uphold and enforce the laws that the state Legislature diligently enact to preserve the health, safety and welfare of our communities.

Hansen represents District 9 in the Utah House of Representatives. He ran for mayor of Ogden earlier this year.

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