There have been a number of Warsaw Times-Union articles about the Kosciusko County law enforcement officers receiving a $31,000 Operation Pullover grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and how the Warsaw Police Department, along with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, have been on an enforcement blitz to crack down on drivers not wearing seat belts. These grants are provided by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
I pulled up the grant rules for an Operation Pullover grant on the Internet (www.in.gov/cji/opo/grant_rules.html). Rule R. reads "Law enforcement applicants working Operation Pull Over overtime enforcement are required to achieve a minimum of three separate documented, officer-to-motorist contacts per hour of traffic enforcement, with a minimum of 1.5 citations per hour for seat belt and/or child restraint violations. Impaired driving arrests is a minimum of one DUI arrest for every eight hours of traffic enforcement. In addition, a total of 20 percent of all citations/warnings must be in the area of seat belt or child safety seat violations for all traffic enforcement."
So there is a quota system.
Furthermore, this is encouraging violation of state law on the part of our police officers. Indiana Code 9-19-10-3.1 (b) reads "A law enforcement agency may not use a safety belt checkpoint to detect and issue a citation for a person's failure to comply with this chapter."
So there is a quota system requiring so many seat belt violations per hour. Doesn't that encourage, if not, in essence, require a seat belt checkpoint system of some sort?
I am angry. I am a victim of this myself. And to think that the 24 percent increase in property taxes is being used to fund this sort of crap! The increase that is forcing senior citizens on fixed income to give up their homes.
This crap needs to stop right now! Representative Dave Wolkins and Senator Ryan Mishler, are you paying attention?
