In a new bill signed by Governor Youngkin, as part of the nearly 700+ bills he signed into law recently, it is now illegal for police departments to set traffic ticket quotas. (RELATED: Youngkin Has Now Signed More than 700 Bills Into Law)
The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, prohibits law enforcement from requiring officers to make a specific number of arrests or issue a certain number of summons and has received widespread support from Virginia police associations. Many police officials have long said that the practice of assigning quotas negatively impacted public trust, and possibly lead to unethical situations in order to meet these quotas:
“THIS DISPARITY IN POLICING PHILOSOPHY CAN OFTEN PLACE LEADERSHIP IN DIFFICULT POSITIONS AND OFTEN LEADS TO SOME FORM OF TICKET QUOTAS. TOO OFTEN LEADERSHIP SIMPLY PLACES A NUMBER ON AN OFFICER’S MONTHLY PERFORMANCE AND REQUIRES A CERTAIN NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS TO MEET THE MINIMUM PERFORMANCE GOAL. THIS IS A LAZY WAY TO REQUIRE OFFICERS TO MEET THEIR OBJECTIVES. IT ALSO HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE UNETHICAL AND GENERATE BAD PUBLIC RELATIONS.”
Sean McGowan, executive director of the Virginia Police Benevolent Association, called using the number of tickets a state trooper writes to evaluate their on-the-job performance is “antiquated” and “out of date.”
It’s support allowed the law to pass nearly unopposed. “It was something that not only brought the two parties together, but it brought together civil rights organizations and police member organizations” Said CBS 6 political analyst Dr. Bob Holsworth.