COLUMBUS — The Ohio legislature has proposed two bills that would make traffic ticket and arrest quotas illegal, and they are inching closer to becoming law.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6, some state lawmakers hope this will help law enforcement focus on other crimes.
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Right now, there are identical companion bills in the Ohio Senate and House. They have each passed their own versions and have sent them to the other chamber. Both the House and Senate will have to agree on one bill to send to Governor DeWine.
“I think that would be a great idea to do,” David Jones from Harrison Township said.
Banning traffic ticket and arrest quotas have been around the block in Ohio’s legislature before, but previous bills have not made it to the governor.
State lawmakers set up this bipartisan plan for companion bills in February.
“When the public believes that police officers are writing tickets based on a need to meet a weekly quota, it undermines the public trust in law enforcement,” Representative Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) said.
Several law enforcement groups support this plan, including the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police as well as civil justice reform advocates.
Ohio could join 25 other states that have banned these quotas.
“What our bill does is says you can’t mandate a certain amount of tickets. It’s just an arbitrary number,” Representative Kevin Miller (R-Newark) said.
Supporters of the bills say it would allow officers to focus on other priorities, and that quotas lead to bad police-community relations.
News Center 7 spoke to people in the community who say tickets can be a lot to handle for people who are already struggling.
“People are pushing to make ends meet,” Stacey Cure from Cincinnati said.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol banned quotas as a part of their collective bargaining agreement.
“Yes, I’ve gotten a speeding ticket,” David Jones from Harrison Township said. “They are pretty pricey for the speeding tickets that I’ve got.”
As long as there are no changes to these companion bills, the first one to pass out of both the House and the Senate will head to the governor’s desk.
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