dnewton3
Staff member
Your assertion being that if cops pulled over people and wrote more tickets, they'd have more revenue?
That is a flawed presumption.
I'm going to explain how most states run their citation systems. Obviously there will always be nuances which vary from state to state. This is a generality, not an assurance that your state does what every other state does.
The cost of a ticket consists of two things; the court costs and the fine. Most every state I know of has a system where the legislature sets the court costs. Court costs represent the largest portion of the overall ticket cost. Fines typically are a smallest portion of a traffic ticket; there is a min and max set by the state. For example, in Indiana when I was active duty, the court costs were around $110, and the minimum fine was $1, with an extra $.50 if it was a moving violation. Of that $111.50 total, not one penny went to the LE agency. The court costs cover the processing (paying the judge salary, the clerk salary, the staff, the overhead, etc). The actual fine money typically goes to the municipality, often to the prosecutorial office. If the person was a multi-offender, the "fine" would go up, but I rarely saw it go over $10; which still went to other entities and not the law enforcement department. There are max limits on the fines, but the list varies depending on the infraction and state. Many states have taken to doubling the "fine" if the citation is for a moving violation in a construction zone; these can get pricey quickly. But again, not one penny goes to the agency of the cops who wrote the ticket.
Often, you will be offered a "diversion" opportunity by the prosecutorial entity. You pay an "administrative fee" up front. This is a means of them gathering more money, and deferring the prosecution of your citation for some period of time (typically a year). If you don't commit another traffic violation, that initial charge is dropped. Then they keep the money for their office. While some people decry this process, it helps greatly in keeping tax rates lower, as they use this money for the expensive labor costs of high-profile cases such as rape, murder, etc. They often set these deferral costs near or only slightly above the "minimum" court costs, so you're encouraged to use the deferral program. These programs are a "win-win"; you get off with no ticket and no insurance bump, and the county gets more money for costly trials. But as you may have noticed, not one penny goes to the cops with this program.
About the only time a LEO agency gets money is when they confiscate/seize money and other things from nefarious people who deal/transport drugs, etc. The items and money are typically held in escrow until the case is over, and if the suspect(s) are found guilty, they forfeit the cars/guns/money and that goes to the law enforcement agency. But none of this is compensation for a traffic citation.
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