Traffic Enforcement

"You don't cite people to punish them. You cite them to teach them something. In this case, the deputy knew what she did was wrong." That's what a Hillsborough County, Florida, sheriff's spokesman said when the St. Petersburg times asked why a deputy who ran a stop sign and slammed into another car, injuring the driver, didn't get a ticket. The paper found some law enforcement agencies in the area routinely refuse to hand out tickets to officers they catch breaking traffic laws. The agencies say they handle the matters internally, and offending officers face various sanctions, including losing safe-driver bonuses. But they don't have to pay fines, nor do they accumulate points on their driver's licenses and face higher insurance rates like normal motorists would. The Florida Highway Patrol will ticket its officers when they are caught violating traffic laws, unless they are responding to emergencies. And the FHP says it will investigate crashes involving officers from other departments. But when they make it known they will cite the officer if he or she is found to have violated the law, most departments don't ask for their help.