Illinois officially banned traffic ticket quotas for police officers on Sunday with Gov. Pat Quinn's signing of the new bill.
"Law enforcement officers should have discretion on when and where to issue traffic citations and not be forced to ticket motorists to satisfy a quota system," Quinn said in a statement,
The Chicago Sun-Times reported. "This new law will improve safety and working conditions for police officers and prevent motorists from facing unnecessary anxiety when they encounter a police vehicle."
The new law not only affects driving citations, but bans any local, county, or state department from requiring ticket quotas in any area of the law, whether it be for driving violations or hunting and fishing violations. In addition to the ban, law enforcement offices are not allowed to compare the number of citations issued by one officer to those of another for the purpose of evaluating performance.
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State Rep. Jay Hoffman sponsored the bill in the state House, and said the legislature approved it overwhelmingly.
"Arbitrary quotas on the number of tickets that have to be issued by police officers undermines the public trust in the police departments’ priorities," he said,
according to The Chicago Tribune.
The new law is seen as a win for police and police unions, but reaction has been mixed among government officials and police department managers.
"From a police union perspective, the bill is a win. But from the perspective of management, who lose the ability to evaluate their people, it’s [a] loss," on police source told the Sun-Times.
"They look at it like, 'If you’re making an arrest every night, if you’re answering calls, those things are documented and show me you’re out there working.' But if you finish a shift and don’t have anything to show for it, not even a parking ticket, that shows me you’re not getting your ass out of your car."
Some in the government also said that abolishing quotas could mean less revenue for local governments and their respective departments.
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