A proposal to ban traffic ticket quotas in Arizona has resurfaced, finding unexpected common ground between Republicans and Democrats.
House Bill 2179, proposed by Rep. Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), aims to ban law enforcement agencies from mandating a set number of traffic citations per officer. This echoes a similar bill passed in 2015 but vetoed by then-Governor Doug Ducey.
Ducey’s 2015 veto stemmed from his skepticism that quotas even existed, and concerns about limiting performance evaluation tools for law enforcement. Kolodin, however, highlights the bill’s appeal to both officers and the public, arguing that it eliminates micromanagement and aligns with common sense. It should be up to the individual police officer if a driver needs to be ticketed.
The debate also involves law enforcement organizations. While the Arizona Police Association supports the ban, the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police remains opposed, again citing a lack of actual quotas within the state and a potential effect on performance evaluations.
Joe Clure, executive director of the Arizona Police Association, acknowledges the past prevalence of pressure to meet ticket quotas, even if officially denied.
The issue with quotas is they can incentivize officers to focus on issuing tickets for minor infractions, even when speeding and other dangerous driving behaviors pose a greater threat to public safety. Speeding is a major factor in traffic accidents, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reporting that it was a contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities in 2021. Local car accident attorneys in Phoenix say that many of the vehicle accident claims they deal with relate to speeding, and usually end in catastrophic injury or death. Clearly, speeding should be the focus of law enforcement when it comes to issuing citations, not arbitrary quotas. There have even been recent attempts to mitigate the issue by reducing speed limits.
Joe Clure believes the severe officer shortage across the nation, including Arizona, has largely eliminated quota pressure due to the focus on recruiting for more serious crime response. The Phoenix Police Department, once cited as an example of a quota system, now emphasizes officer discretion based on observed dangerous driving behavior, with traffic safety as a top priority.
Whether House Bill 2179 ultimately succeeds in becoming law and impacting Arizona’s traffic enforcement remains to be seen. However, its bipartisan support and the evolving perspectives within law enforcement suggest it could pass and help with public safety, officer autonomy, and community concerns.
