MAP has issued a special BOL to all police officers: watch out for attempts by your departments to establish traffic ticket quotas!

Despite the fact that this union and just about every other law enforcement organization thought the concept was long-gone, some chiefs in Wayne County apparently have decided to resurrect the concept.

This development raises a red flag. First of all, MAP believes that any implementation of ticket quotas has the potential to be a violation of law. The union's position isn't merely theory. Here's what an excerpt of Michigan's Vehicle Code states:

A police officer shall not be required to issue a certain number of citations for violations of this act or of local ordinances substantially corresponding to provisions of this act, including parking or standing violations, unless the issuance of citations is a part of a police officer's performance evaluation system and the issuance of citations is not given any greater consideration than any other factor in the evaluation of a police officer's performance. In the absence of a police officer's performance evaluation system, the issuance of citations shall not be given any greater consideration than any other factor in the evaluation of a police officer's performance.

The intent of this provision - section 750 of Act 300 of 1949 - is clear. However, while it recognizes the dangers of establishing quota systems, it also speaks to the potential for departments to implement such systems within the context of performance evaluations.

This is where the "red flag" comes in. Any performance evaluation that includes ticket quotas as a factor must - according to the code portion cited above - meet very specific requirements in order to be legal. Much is a stake whenever this factor comes into play. Officers' evaluations obviously can be negatively affected if they fail to meet whatever standard is set.

In other words, careers can be impacted, especially if departments do not take care to meet every requirement of the law.

However, MAP's position is that virtually any attempt to establish ticket quotas, regardless how the practice might be couched within an officers' evaluation system, can be interpreted as an attempt to circumvent the law.

Police unions don't often quote Shakespeare when making a point. However, it's accurate to apply the line "A rose by any other name is still a rose." A ticket quota by any other name is just as certainly a ticket quota, and it doesn't smell much like a rose.

MAP is putting all employers on notice, via the grievance procedure, that quotas won't simply be accepted because departments choose to describe them in different terms.

All officers from all departments should watch carefully for attempts to resurrect the idea of ticket quotas. This is an important BOL. If the specter of a quota should arise, all affected officers can contact the MAP office (248-304-8800) for assistance.

One final thought: If any police union member was put into the uncomfortable position of being able to write a violation to the chief of police, would the citation count toward his or her quota numbers? The irony of this situation is pretty obvious - the department, itself, would have created the incentive to issue the ticket.