Although not to your pocket book.
Australia: 1500 Police Officers Believe Main Job is Revenue Generation
A landmark survey of 3459 police officers in Victoria, Australia today exposed a disturbing shift in law enforcement priorities. A total of 42 percent of the police surveyed by the Herald Sun newspaper believed their primary mission has become revenue generation.
The shift is seen even more clearly in the attitude of police toward speed cameras. A mere six percent believed the government’s assertion that the purpose of photo enforcement was to reduce traffic fatalities. More than 70 percent of respondents insisted profit, not safety, was the true motivation. The state earned A$147 million with 671,063 mobile speed camera fines in the last fiscal year.
A spokesman for the chief commissioner dismissed the revenue raising claims by pointing to a government report that showed significant reductions in the number of accidents and injuries where speed cameras are used. In the Herald Sun survey, front line officers criticized high-ranking police officials for manipulating certain types of statistics to achieve a public perception of success.
Well, I’d rather that be their train of thought than “To drop the hammer on lawbreakers.”
I do like how the flatfoot gets a decent jab in on the brass as well. But then, Aussies have never been known to be vague in their assertions.
Well, it is good to know where their priorities lie, but if the police are not concerned for the public safety, and the public is not legally allowed to effect their own safety… Well, that leads to an interesting situation.
Well, it is good to know where their priorities lie, but if the police are not concerned for the public safety, and the public is not legally allowed to effect their own safety… Well, that leads to an interesting situation.