Police Quotas

It seems like the New Orleans Police Department is back in the news, this time over quotas.

On August 2, NOPD Lt. Carol Aldridge sent an email to members of her platoon in the 5th District. In the email, which FOX 8 obtained, Aldridge writes, "This is an order-1 bike, 2 businesses, 1 walking beat EACH TOUR OF DUTY! did you forget that this was a platoon directive? if you cannot accomplish this, you will be writing a 105 every day to explain why you saw no bicycles violating the law, why you had no time to do 2 business checks, and why you did no walking beat the previous day."

I love police quotas. It makes the public distrust us, it makes us look like we're idiots only interested in revenue enhancement, and it violates Louisiana Law. Oh, yeah, it's against the law to assign quotas to police officers in Louisiana.

No municipality or any police department thereof, nor any parish or any sheriff's department thereof, shall establish or maintain, formally or informally, a plan to evaluate, promote, compensate, or discipline a law enforcement officer on the basis of the officer's issuance of a predetermined or specified number of any type or combination of types of traffic citations or require or suggest to a law enforcement officer, that the law enforcement officer is required or expected to issue a predetermined or specified number of any type or combination of types of traffic citations within a specified period.

Now, I'll agree that supervisors have the authority to supervise their officers.  I'll also agree that a walking beat is a good idea, and business checks are a vital part of the policing business, as long as the businesses are closed.  Rattle the doors, look inside, leave a card.  It's good police work.  But quotas?  No, lieutenant, that's against the law.  It's bad police work.

Lieutenant Aldridge needs to get smacked by her supervisors and instructed in the laws of the state of Louisiana.  The very laws she's sworn to uphold.