CPD increases written traffic tickets
CPD chief Burton has encouraged traffic officers to be more active.
Published Sept. 1, 2009
The Columbia municipal courts have announced the Columbia Police Department increased its monthly amount of written traffic tickets in July, CPD Chief Ken Burton said.
Burton said municipal courts are telling him that historically, CPD has written around 800 tickets per month.
"During the month of July, that amount went up to around 2,400," he said.
Senior Khadija Tejan said she drives safely, so she can save money instead of paying for traffic tickets.
"I'm definitely more cautious because I don't have the money to pay for tickets and my insurance to go up," Tejan said.
Burton, an officer of 28 years, attributes this rise in tickets to his own rise in expectations for his traffic officers.
For a traffic unit to be effective, Burton said he expects a police officer would detect and enforce the laws on traffic violations to the tune of about three tickets per hour.
Officers used to hand out an average of one ticket per hour before Burton became chief March 31 of this year, but Burton said the amount of tickets is not important.
"I don't really care how many tickets are written," Burton said.
Increased enforcement will lead to safer driving, Burton said. One way to help reduce traffic violations is by mapping.
"We determine where accidents are occurring in the city," he said. "We take our officers and concentrate them in this area in order to change the behaviors of drivers that are coming through a particular intersection and thereby reduce the accident and the injuries that are caused by those accidents."
The traffic enforcement increase has not gone unnoticed by MU students.
"When I first came back (for this semester) I noticed an increase in patrol," Tejan said. "I feel like if there are more tickets being handed out and students know about it, then definitely I think student behavior will change."