If we rethought whatever quota system is in place for arrests it would be a great help. Cops need to make lots of arrests, this is an easy arrest to make, and the cop is a step closer to the quota. It seems to create a system where people arrest people for profit instead of to "serve and protect."
I had typed out a huge response about quotas and how they actually, at least as I have been told, use something more insane. I deleted it, to see if I could be less wordy.
I believe quotas are illegal, at least in many jurisdictions. So, they use something even worse. They use performance metrics. This perversely incentivized ever-increasing arrests, citations, and summons, by becoming a heavily weighted consideration for raises and promotions.
They are, theoretically, supposed to pay attention to those who don't perform at about the average. Instead, they only scrutinize those who are below average. They promote those who have performance metrics that are above average.
A search for 'police performance metrics' is illuminating.
