Quote:
Originally Posted by Talk Host
A traffic enforcement area becomes a "cash cow" only when there is an abundance of motorists violating the law. The violations come before the cash.
If the IRS found a group of people in a specific area who were evading their taxes and fined them, would that be a cash cow or enforcement of tax laws.
Again, I think it's important to remember that police officers do only what they are told to do by their superiors who are told what to do by the officials that you elect. Can you imaging an office saying to the captain, "No sir I don't agree with giving tickets in The Villages, so I won't be doing that today."
YOU ELECT THE SHERIFF. THE CONSTITUTION PROVIDES THAT THE TOP LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IN A COUNTY IS SUBJECT TO THE VOTERS. THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT.
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What you say in the second part of your post does not refute the notion that fining golf cart owners may be a cash cow. In fact, it makes it more likely. Certainly the police officer has no direct motivation for increasing cash flow into the treasury, but the official who is at the top of the command chain may.
As to the notion that the violations come before the cash, the correct order of thinking should be public safety comes before violation enforcement which comes before cash. When looked at in that order, priority should be given to the violations that most endanger public safety. It would be hard to convince a reasonable thinking person that golf carts whizzing by another golf cart at a speed delta of 3 mph constitutes as much of a threat to public safety as what happens in the roundabouts on a regular basis.