BY MIKE CETERA
Remember the great ticket picket of 2007?
Some members of the Aurora police union, reportedly upset over a plan to give a city commission investigating citizen complaints subpoena power over the police, decided to stop writing (or at least slow down) the number of tickets issued to motorists.
The police brass initially complained about the ticket picket, but later pooh-poohed the protest. Meanwhile, union President Wayne Biles told the public, essentially, move along, there was nothing to see here.
"There has been no change in our commitment to serve and protect the citizens of Aurora," Biles wrote in a letter to the editor. "Contrary to what The Beacon News inferred, we are busier than ever, making more traffic stops than last year and having more contacts with the public." (emphasis added)
Wrong.
New data from an ongoing study by Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety shows Aurora police made 2,570 fewer traffic stops and issued 3,453 fewer citations in 2007 compared to 2006.
The data was collected as part of an ongoing study of racial profiling. See the newspaper's editorial on the issue here.
What does this mean? It's clear there was a slowdown last year. But whether the union had anything to do with it is another question because the data shows declines in the number of citations issued in each of the last two years following a spike in 2005 when Aurora police issued 14,124 citiations, or roughly 54 percent of the time a motorist was stopped. In 2007, about 36 percent of drivers stopped received a citation.
I think you can look at this one of two ways: this slowdown means less revenue for the city (a couple hundred grand) and fewer opportunities to make contact with bad guys (and build a case on them for something else), while a lack of enforcement potentially makes the streets less safe to drive. Or this means police are busying themselves with bigger issues than enforcing traffic laws, like busting gang members.
In either case, there's good news for anyone driving in Aurora: If you speed, odds are you won't get caught. If you get caught, odds are you won't get a ticket. Happy driving.
Stops and citations were down in 2007 compared to 2006. It could also mean, unlike the allusion posted, that drivers in Aurora were more in compliance with the law. Speculation is a hallmark of shoddy, sensational journalism.
Really things happens in quick that we don't get time to think. Situation like this is a example of that. This topics are becoming the sensation for journalism. Complaints are common to Aurora Police union. Ticket picket is to be obstructed and authorities should take action for in future sense.
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Dui In California