Ohio Legislators Aim to Prohibit Police Ticket Quotas | Carscoops

      Banning police quotas will enable officers to concentrate on more critical matters

      6 hours ago

      by Brad Anderson

      Police departments statewide are currently permitted to enforce arrest and citation quotas.

      State Representative Bride Rose Sweeney has stated that these practices damage public trust in law enforcement.

      Other states, including Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, and Louisiana, have already prohibited police quotas.

      It has long been an unspoken truth that numerous police departments globally maintain weekly targets that they expect officers to fulfill. However, several legislators in Ohio are advocating for the prohibition of ticket and arrest quotas across the state.

      Ohio House Bill 131 was introduced last year but failed to progress beyond the local committee stage for a vote. Now, it has been paired with a companion bill in the state senate and is back on the legislative agenda. State Representative Bride Rose Sweeney, supported by Rep. Kevin Miller, a former State Highway Patrol Officer, highlights that current laws permit ticket and arrest quotas in Ohio.

      “In Ohio, it is entirely legal to require a police officer to go out daily on taxpayer funds to generate 10-20 tickets,” Sweeney remarked.

      She asserts that public awareness of officers issuing tickets to fulfill quotas "erodes trust in law enforcement." Sweeney aims to make these quota systems illegal, following the precedent set by 25 other U.S. states that have banned police quotas, including Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

      “Ohioans need to be assured that every citation or arrest is valid, legitimate, and necessary,” said George Sakellakis, the director of the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. “Police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and troopers are dedicated professionals who risk their lives for our communities, not revenue sources. They chose this profession to protect our neighborhoods, not to control them. We appreciate the legislature addressing this crucial issue and encourage them to pass this bill to eliminate quotas in Ohio.”

      In an interview with Fox 8, Brian Steel, president of Ohio’s Fraternal Order of Police, noted that both police officers and sheriffs are in favor of removing quotas. This change would allow officers to dedicate their efforts to more significant responsibilities.