Thoughts on the issue of ticket quotas for police. I take the point that reckless driving is a dangerous factor in our city life, but maybe the profit from tickets shouldn't become the main motive driving a police force.

When I went to report on my stolen bicycle last fall, I had a pleasant enough conversation with the desk sergeant, which included him laughing merrily and saying "Would you believe, some people actually imagine we go out looking for their stolen bikes!"

I hadn't actually expected that – if anyone were to go looking for it, it would be me, checking out the pawnshops and eyeballing the classifieds – but it was more his attitude: what a waste of time, cops looking out for stolen goods. Why officer, I thought that was part of the job description.
posted at 11:24