I wonder when this will spread to real police forces as we gear up for the increased police state the US is becoming. $20 for a jay walker, $10,000 for a murderer. Wonder how much for a website with a copyrighted video? On the one hand, you might have more real criminals caught while reducing arrests for trivial things (with trivial payouts) like pot smoking. On the other hand, how many more trumped up charges will result? Sort of like the for-profit prisons needing prisoners which caused more people being sent to prison than should be sent.
Constable Sammy Scott scans the property of a home where he attempted to serve a summons. All of Scott’s equipment, including his vehicle, firearms and fuel, is purchased from his own pocket; however, constables receive a fee for citations given and summonses that are delivered and signed.
Failure to dim bright lights. A broken taillight. No seat belt. Those are just some of the minor traffic infractions motorists are being pulled over for in Cocke County by one of its constables. And for every one of those offenses, $22 goes into Derek Wright’s pocket.
From Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, 2011, Wright pocketed nearly $19,000 for his services — one that includes stopping drivers and writing citations.
[…]
But Wright, 32, said he’s not doing it just to make money. He also said he wasn’t aware he shouldn’t be staking people out.
[…]
But Cocke County Commissioner Phil Killion, elected chairman of the Public Safety Committee on Nov. 14, said he’ll look into the issue.“Speed grabbin’? I’ve got my wonders about that,” Killion said. “If someone writes a ticket because someone’s safety is in danger, that’s one thing, but if someone’s sitting there doing a ticket-for-money, I have a problem with that.”
$19,000 for almost an entire year? That kinda blows. I made better than that while I was in high school.
“Speed grabbin’? I’ve got my wonders about that,” Killion said. “If someone writes a ticket because someone’s safety is in danger, that’s one thing, but if someone’s sitting there doing a ticket-for-money, I have a problem with that.”
“problems like that”, say with a speed camera?
Don’t the speed camera suppliers get paid from the ticket revenue? What’s the difference?
Speed cameras are capital expenditures upon first purchase and maintenance upon subsequent parts replacement.
Their acquisition by the municipality has to come out of those budget line items.
I don’t know about elsewhere but in Québec the line items are specified in a standard balance sheet, (with potential for roll ups of sub-items split say by intersection in a municipality,) so that a provincial auditor can look a any municipalities’ budget across the province and instantly be able to compare apples and oranges with oranges.
Weren’t quotas declared illegal due to the profit motive? How can this be legal? I see a mass tort approaching. But, I’m sure Tennessee has plenty of money.
Welcome to Barack Obama’s America.
Dude, lay off with blaming Barack Obama.
This is a return to the bad old days of the 18th century: bounty hunters, vigilante justice, posses (ad-hoc groups of citizens deputized for a specific purpose,) and “unwritten laws” selectively but severely enforced.
Next comes … implementing Poll Taxes …
When did strippers start charging a pole tax? By law, does it have to be paid in singles?
Run the Record on them “Bounty Hunters” !!! Ex-Offenders every one of them !!!
The implication of the headline and small part of the story shown here is that anyone can set themselves up in the constable business and that large numbers of them will hit the roads seeking profitable ticket-writing opportunities, but it’s not like that.
I spent some time living in Kentucky, where the state constitution provides for the election of constables in local elections, and a few people here and there actually run for the office and try to become law enforcement officers. It’s widely considered a survival from frontier days and the constables who are active are often criticized for lack of training, but no one has gone to the trouble to try to amend the state constitution to do away with the office. Though that may change soon, since a recent incident in Louisville in which a woman was shot fleeing from just such an ambitious constable. Google “courier-journal.com constable” for stories.
I think it’s likely the situation in Tennessee is similar — so I believe there is no danger of the roads being suddenly clogged with thousands of constables all anxious to give you a ticket for profit.
First you tell me they’re innocent then I get angry about them being given a ticket.
Otherwise somebody broke a law and got a ticket and that’s not a story to me.
You seem to embrace this New World Order bullshit…am I wrong about that?
“And for every one of those offenses, $22 goes into Derek Wright’s pocket.
From Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, 2011, Wright pocketed nearly $19,000 for his services — one that includes stopping drivers and writing citations. ”
… And these good ‘ol boys in blue say they have no quota to fill. HA!
This is how you pass the buck in oversights. Hire mercenaries. It’s how the US military does it, in foreign wars now. So why not local law enforcement? And them they can just deny whatever abuses these clowns commit, as being the responsibility of elected officials. Thus, the real cops can’t be sued. And these bounty hunters can go out of business, at any time. And then right back under a new name. Because I seriously doubt they’ve ever used their real names.
If he’s not a cop, he’s gonna take a bullet if he knocks down my door.
Tired of the mercenary mentality of our country. If dirty work has to be done, you don’t outsource.