FHP Sending Message: No Ticket Quota

August 17, 2017

A prohibition on ticket quotas will become part of training for supervisors and higher-ups in the Florida Highway Patrol, a top highway-safety official told Gov. Rick Scott and the state Cabinet on Wednesday.

Terry Rhodes, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said the move is part a response to a report that Maj. Mark Welch of the patrol’s Troop H in Tallahassee had sent an email to troopers requesting “two citations each hour.”

“You have my commitment here today that no quotas will be tolerated within the Florida Highway Patrol,” said Rhodes, whose department includes the patrol.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was “troubled” by Welch’s directive, which she called “a stupid statement.”

“One misplaced, reckless statement like that can give everyone a bad name,” Bondi said. “Thank you for clarifying something that is a given. It’s illegal to have quotas, and it’s wrong.”

On Wednesday night, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said Welch had submitted a letter of retirement effective Sept. 5. The one-line letter did not provide an explanation.

Col. Gene Spaulding, director of the Florida Highway Patrol, told reporters earlier in the day that Welch’s comments in the email to troopers were “unfortunate and inappropriate” and that the need for disciplinary action for Welch was under review.

“The rank and file know that they have never been disciplined, they have never been evaluated, there has been no punitive damages, they’ve never been rewarded for strictly writing citations,” Spaulding said. “They know they have a job to do, because their job is public safety.”

Welch — in his email to troopers patrolling Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor and Wakulla counties — stated the directive wasn’t a quota, yet “when you look at citations per hour, we are at 1.3 so we have a goal to reach.”

He also wrote that more tickets would help reduce the fatality rate within Troop H’s area.

“Many times,” Welch wrote, “it is easier to issue a warning opposed to a citation for behaviors observed. But the only way to try to alter that behavior is by impacting the motorist with the sanctions surrounding a traffic citation.”

Spaulding disputed that tickets are more effective than warnings.

“Our main focus is high visibility and hot spots in areas that we’ve identified through crash data throughout the state,” Spaulding said. “We have approximately 240 hot spots throughout the state, three to five in each county, where there is a high volume of crashes. Our emphasis is not about citations. It’s not even about warnings or faulty equipment notices. It’s about visibility, being in those areas, being visible and taking action when you need to.”

by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

Comments

11 Responses to “FHP Sending Message: No Ticket Quota”

  1. Indian Chief on August 20th, 2017 8:36 am

    The dangerous drivers are using their cell phone and most of them are NOT speeding! The quota should be 1 cell phone ticket for every speeding ticket, that would save lives.

  2. Kane on August 18th, 2017 11:32 am

    @LARS The left lane is not a passing lane in town, it is only a passing lane on the interstate look it up educate yourself. You are the reason the FHP needs no quotas. Yes I do move out of the left lane to allow faster traffic to pass it’s called being a good driver something you obviously know little about.

  3. Ponderosa hill on August 18th, 2017 5:44 am

    To: Lars….sounds like Jefferson & Madison Counties would be a bad spot
    for self important Drivers. Escambia County could sure use the extra
    income…..and we sure have plenty of the MEME drivers who think only they
    have important places to go !

  4. SW on August 18th, 2017 3:50 am

    Used to be an old joke among law enforcement-no I don’t have a quota, I can write as many tickets as I want to, now.

  5. Nelson on August 17th, 2017 10:43 pm

    Lock up the supervisor who broke the law on ticket quatas

  6. Lars on August 17th, 2017 11:57 am

    Obviously the last four posters are left lane driving slow pokes. Move you be-hind over and get out of the way of us people who have something to do and places to be.

    And if you actually believe there are no quotas you are fooling yourself. Check out the sources of revenue for Jefferson and Madison County.

  7. Kane on August 17th, 2017 11:43 am

    Law enforcement should never be a competition.

  8. Wilykyote on August 17th, 2017 8:12 am

    This could be made very simple……$1000 first speeding ticket,
    $5000 the 2nd……$15000 the third . Complete loss of driving
    License thereafter.

  9. john on August 17th, 2017 6:40 am

    I think quotas should be a go-to option, and it should certainly affect traffic behavior. People will respond when you get in thair wallet.

  10. M in Bratt on August 17th, 2017 6:19 am

    What is it that the cops always say? “ignorance of the law is no excuse”. This supervisor obviously broke the law against ticket quotas, and should be disciplined accordingly.

  11. anne 1of2 on August 17th, 2017 5:57 am

    I hope this means they can write unlimited amounts of tickets per hour. Speeding drivers should receive no warning. I am tired of so many ignoring speed limits and acting like the rest of us are stupid.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News