Montgomery Traffic Tickets Up 49%; Union Blames New Report:
Montgomery County police - issued almost 50 percent more traffic citations last month than in February, an increase a police union attributes to patrolmen who feel they have to improve ÛÏproductivityÛ by issuing unnecessary tickets.</br></br>Police Chief Bernard Crooke contends the increase is simply the result of his officers coming ÛÏup to speedÛ in their work and that there is no evidence that tickets are being issued improperly. But the Fraternal Order of Police says Crooke has instituted a de facto quota system, and that patrolmen fear their careers will be damaged unless they report high numbers of arrests and citations.</br></br>According to police statistics, the number of citations for noncriminal traffic offenses, both moving and nonmoving, rose from 9,424 in February to 14,043 in March, an increase of 49 percent. The number of warning ci-</br></br>The rise in the number of arrests coincides with the introduction of a performance report that every patrolman was required to fill out for the month of March. Known as Form 16, it has been the cause of an ongoing dispute between Crooke and the Fraternal Order of Police, which claims as members 600 of Montgomery CountyÛªs 732 sworn officers.</br></br>Protests from the ranks that the form constituted a de facto quota system for arrests and citations led the department to cut short a planned two-month experiment with it that began in March. After revision, the form could be reintroduced in June, according to a senior officer. The FOP wants the form eliminated altogether.