10-02-2014, 02:06 AM
Back in my days on the street, when someone would mention quotas I would always reply, “Well, we USED to have quotas. But now I am allowed to write as many tickets as I want.”
But in all seriousness, the term quota implies a hard set threshold of productivity which must be met. Modern police departments - in this case including HPD as modern – don’t use quotas. A term which is used is metrics. Metrics are not a set threshold, rather a comparison of one’s productivity against the average. And it is not a single statistic; it is the totality of the circumstances. One Officer may be great at sniffing out DUIs, while another may be best at finding the dope. The metrics comparison looks to your overall productivity. One big felony case may be considered worth 50 traffic offenses, due to the disparity in time and resources to work each. They key item is that you do not drop too far below the average.
As far as the Rangers being able to make traffic stops outside of the park: it is within their authority to make the stop, and call the county out to scratch out the cite. It would not be common, however, it is allowed. This would be reserved for the most egregious of traffic offences, which constitute an immediate threat to public safety, like a DUI. I spent time as a fed, and only ever took direct action on a local matter once. And that was for a man flourishing a gun in a restaurant.
On the topic of identifying intoxicated drivers at night, it is easier than in the day. There is less traffic, and the percentage of drivers who are intoxicate is much higher. NHTSA has a guide that will help an Officer determine the statistical likelihood that a driver is intoxicated. Some of these indicators, such as driving without headlamps, or failing to dim high beams, are only present after dark. http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/808677.pdf
And, yes, the best time to fish for drunks is at about closing time. However, it should be noted that the NHTSA guide specifically cites randomly stopping motorists as a very ineffective way to catching intoxicated drivers. “The probability of detecting DWI by random traffic enforcement stops at night has been found to be about 3 percent (.03)”
But in all seriousness, the term quota implies a hard set threshold of productivity which must be met. Modern police departments - in this case including HPD as modern – don’t use quotas. A term which is used is metrics. Metrics are not a set threshold, rather a comparison of one’s productivity against the average. And it is not a single statistic; it is the totality of the circumstances. One Officer may be great at sniffing out DUIs, while another may be best at finding the dope. The metrics comparison looks to your overall productivity. One big felony case may be considered worth 50 traffic offenses, due to the disparity in time and resources to work each. They key item is that you do not drop too far below the average.
As far as the Rangers being able to make traffic stops outside of the park: it is within their authority to make the stop, and call the county out to scratch out the cite. It would not be common, however, it is allowed. This would be reserved for the most egregious of traffic offences, which constitute an immediate threat to public safety, like a DUI. I spent time as a fed, and only ever took direct action on a local matter once. And that was for a man flourishing a gun in a restaurant.
On the topic of identifying intoxicated drivers at night, it is easier than in the day. There is less traffic, and the percentage of drivers who are intoxicate is much higher. NHTSA has a guide that will help an Officer determine the statistical likelihood that a driver is intoxicated. Some of these indicators, such as driving without headlamps, or failing to dim high beams, are only present after dark. http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/808677.pdf
And, yes, the best time to fish for drunks is at about closing time. However, it should be noted that the NHTSA guide specifically cites randomly stopping motorists as a very ineffective way to catching intoxicated drivers. “The probability of detecting DWI by random traffic enforcement stops at night has been found to be about 3 percent (.03)”