Franklinton officials are toying with the idea of assigning an officer fulltime to police for traffic violators as well as charge the same person to collect past fines that total nearly $100,000.
“The traffic officer would write tickets for people speeding, not using seat belts, no child constraints,” alderman John Daniel said. “State police writing a lot of tickets for that sort of thing. We need to do that.
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Police chief Donald Folse is proposing creating a separate traffic division, saying it allow “police to do other duties and patrol.”
“If they’re not on patrol, stuff will happen,” he added. “There are so many other things to do other than running traffic. It will give officers time to do actual policing.”
Folse is proposing transferring someone from within the department to the traffic position, and hire a new officer as his replacement. A portion of that officer’s time will also be spent attempting to collect unpaid fines, which go back as far as 10 years.
Additionally, that same person will work accidents.
“I don’t see any downside,” Folse said. “It would be a plus for the town as well as the police department.”
“We will generate enough of revenue to pay the costs,” alderman Florence Manning said.
Others are not so sure.
“I don’t know if we are large enough to have our own traffic division,” alderman Richard Dillon said. “It takes a lot of officers to create a traffic division. Collecting (past fines) is not as easy as (Folse is) claiming.
“We do not have any room in the budget to fund any additional expense. I don’t like hiring someone when it’s not budgeted.”
Dillon also is concerned about Franklinton gaining a reputation as a city where overly zealous officers write frivolous tickets.
“We don’t want to create a negative image with shoppers trying to come in to shop,” he said.
Comments
Mr. F wrote on Jun 28, 2010 3:19 PM:
Chris wrote on Jun 24, 2010 7:05 AM:
My observation wrote on Jun 24, 2010 1:03 AM:
1. FPD cops are just rude and stare at everyone as though they are criminals.
2. FPD is disconnected from the community
3. One cop pulls you over and then 5 more show up on scene.
4. One writes you a ticket while four other "reserve cops" stand around as if they were the SWAT team at a bank robbery.
5. They have substandard leadership and their bad attitudes are fed and encouraged by the likes of Alderman Florence Manning. "
Former shopper wrote on Jun 24, 2010 12:45 AM:
Franklinton already has the image of being a town with overly zealous officers writing frivolous tickets. I have not been ticketed myself, but I have seen the crap that FPD "tickets" people for. FPD has the most unfriendly officers with the worst attitudes of anywhere I can think of.
I have already stopped buying groceries at the Winn Dixie there because I despise driving through Franklinton unless I have to. Just dont like the way the FPD squirrel patrol stares at folks. I'll continue shopping at Winn Dixie and Rouses in Covington. "