And when I say ‘comes down the pike,’ I mean it quite literally:
For motorists wondering whether police are working on a quota system, an answer can be found in Montana.
A new policy requires state troopers to stop at least one vehicle an hour, whether the driver has done anything wrong or not. But the driver doesn’t have to be ticketed, so police officials say it’s not a quota system.
State police Colonel Paul Grimstad said the rule that took effect on Monday is intended to reduce traffic accidents and drunken driving.
Makes you sort of long for the days when traffic cameras were offensive and stupid.
(via RWN)
Defense Guy
It’s always nice when the police act in manners which are so clearly illegal. Perhaps Montana is unfamiliar with the illegal search and seizure clauses of the Constitution.
Mason
Kind of surprising that it’s coming from Montana of all places.
Mr Furious
It seems like this has to be unconstitutional…right?
Jay
It would seem to be violating quite a few rights. It should be fought, but I bet it isn’t.
Primer
Well, the precedent has already been set for all sorts of unconstitutional activity due to jacked up statistics on drugs and drunk driving. Seems that the people will allow almost any sort of illegal activity in the off chance that someone might get arrested with a joint or with beer on their breath.
cburke
It seems that illegal search and seizure clauses have gone the way of the dodo in recent years. In Texas, it is now legal for the cops to stop and search your car without permission and without reasonable suspicion. That’ll stop them terrorists, yeah!
Marcus Wellby
Sounds like Montana needed to increase revenue. In my city they started “Street Cleaning” twice a month. If you park on the wrong side of the street on either day, you get towed and pay a very high fine. Meanwhile, the streets are as filthy as ever.
Its just another stealth tax. Allows the state to raise taxes without anyone being the “bad guy”.
Anderson
In some parts of Montana, this means they will be stopping every car to use a given highway.
Vladi G
Hey, I’ve driven quite a few miles on those Montana roads. It gets lonely. Maybe they’re just trying to give them someone to talk to.
Lesley
I agree that this doesn’t pass constitutional muster. Someone who is stopped will probably fight it.
Instead, Montana should just have done what New York City did – pull an old consulting trick. The police in New York City don’t have a ticket quota. They have a “summons performance measurement”. But just because beat cops have their performance partially judged on how many tickets they write does not mean there is a quota. No, no, not at all. Because, you know, they’re not being told to write a specific amount of tickets.