COLUMBUS, Ohio — A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Ohio wants to get rid of police traffic ticket quotas, preventing drivers from receiving excessive citations at the end of the month.
No one likes getting a ticket, especially when it seems there is no reason for it.
Many officers don’t want to give tickets but feel pressured to, said Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio president Gary Wolske.
"'The boss is gonna be on me If I don't have X number this month,'" Wolske said, imitating an officer. "'I got to get another ticket.'"
Some police agencies have official or unofficial quotas, the minimum number of tickets or arrests done that month.
"Now they call them performance standards," the retired Garfield Heights police officer said. "It's a lot of pressure for the officers; it's a lot of pressure on the citizens. There's just no need for it."
He is supporting a bipartisan bill being heard in the Ohio House. State Reps. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) and Kevin Miller (R-Newark) introduced House Bill 333 to prohibit requiring law enforcement officers to meet quotas.
"It doesn't have to be on the books for it to still be a problem," Sweeney said. "That just has the same effect of not trusting law enforcement."
The bill would also prohibit quotas for evaluating, promoting, compensating, transferring or disciplining an officer. It also requires the attorney general to establish a form for a police officer to use to anonymously report the use of quotas, which will prompt an investigation.
Although there have been no public opponents to this legislation, she explains that cities may not be in favor of taking away quotas since it brings them revenue.
"Our cities oftentimes are unfairly strapped because of state policies, but this is not the way that they should achieve adequate funding for their communities," Sweeney said.
News 5 reached out to the Ohio Mayors Alliance for comment on the bill but did not receive a response.
The latest agency to face backlash for alleged quotas was the Independence Police Department.
The city of Independence in 2022 agreed to pay Leonard Mazzola, a former police officer, nearly $1 million for retaliation against him for speaking up against the quota practice — which ended up forcing him to resign or be put on the Brady/Giglio list for unethical police officers, according to Chandra Law firm.
"The Independence Police Department does not have a quota for arrests or the issuing of citations," spokesperson Alla Lora said. "Our officers are expected to be proactive in all aspects of their duties, which include community outreach, traffic enforcement, and crime prevention."
However, a few months earlier in 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court forced the department to pay a resident $1,000 for ignoring her records request about said quotas.
"The case before the Supreme Court occurred before Mayor Gregory Kurtz was elected to office in 2020 and well before Robert Butler was named Police Chief in November 2021," Lora added.
News 5 also reached out to dozens of other police agencies. The ones who responded said they don’t have quotas, but each department has a different way of monitoring police productivity.
Police response
Bedford Heights Police Dept.
They have a monthly rating system that measures the officers’ activity, which includes traffic citations — but also foot patrols, business checks, parking tickets, warrant arrests, misdemeanor arrests, felony arrests and OVIs. Their chief assigns a value based on the amount of time required to perform the task and the importance of the task to the overall safety and security of the city. Officers are expected to achieve a minimum score based on the hours they work.
They do not require a minimum number of tickets. They can write zero if they choose, as long as they are engaging in other activities of value to the department during their non-assigned time.
"It has worked out very well for us and the residents," Chief Michael Marotta said. "I do not support ticket quotas as they limit officers from engaging in other activities that have a higher impact in keeping cities safe and secure."
Bainbridge Township Police Dept.
They used to have a policy, basically a quota, about 15 years ago that required officers to have 10 tickets a month. When Chief Jon Bokovitz took over, he changed protocol so the officers only needed to have 20 traffic stops a month, instead of tickets.
"We leave that discretion up to them — they just have to make 20 stops," Bokovitz said. "Their discretion is what, who they cite and why they cite."
Quotas aren't fair, he added.
"I'm not a big fan of quotas because I know what happened when we had 10 tickets a month," Bokovitz continued. "On the 27th of January, the guys would look and say, shoot, I only got three tickets — I gotta go out and write seven more tickets to get my 10."
Alliance Police Dept.
They don't have quotas at all. They do expect officers to proactively enforce violations, but there are no repercussions if officers don't meet a certain number, Captain James Hilles said.
"Obviously if you never write any citations or arrests while all your peers on the same shift are, we would inquire as to the reason and determine if you are just never seeing violations, need more training, or if the officer is being negligent in their responsibilities," Hilles added.
Cleveland Police Dept.
They deny enforcing traffic or arrest quotas, saying their primary focus is "ensuring the safety and well-being of our community, primarily in response to calls for service."
"Traffic enforcement is done so based on direct observations of traffic violations by our officers and/or at the requests of our community, city leaders, or businesses," CPD spokesperson Freddy Diaz said. "Designated locations of enforcement are strategically targeted areas with high traffic violations."
They declined to comment on H.B. 333.
Akron Police Dept.
They do not have "formal quotas," nor do they encourage their commanders to create informal quotas for citations or arrests.
"The decision for an officer to ticket or arrest should always be made based on the facts of the matter before them and never influenced by anything else," Captain Chris Brewer said.
Ohio State Highway Patrol
Troopers are under no quotas. This could be due to a few reasons, but one is that their bargaining agreement prohibits them, numerous troopers confirmed to News 5.
"While troopers are best known for writing traffic citations, they are responsible for a great variety of activity," Lieutenant Nathan E. Dennis said. "Troopers assist over a half-million people a year, conduct motor vehicle inspections, respond to and investigate traffic crashes, and investigate other criminal activity."
Troopers issue about 400,000 warnings a year, he continued. There is no minimum level of activity for any category of activity.
What is next?
The bill will likely continue to be heard in the coming months.
"The idea of writing a ticket first is to promote safety and educate the public," Wolske said. "The first order of business shouldn't be to revenue generate."
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