I-Team: Are the State Police filling quotas?

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Massachusetts State Police deny they have ticket quotas. Our analysis shows you are most likely to get a ticket in the middle of the month, than the end of the month.

It’s the end of the month and you notice State Troopers pulling drivers over on the Massachusetts Turnpike, or Interstate 91. Your first thought may be, they’re filling their quotas.

(Do you think they have quotas?) “Yes,” said Springfield’s Michael Hill.

(How come? Do you see them out there more?) “Yup,” said Hill.

The 22News I-Team analyzed a years’ worth of data we obtained from the State Police and the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

In 2015, the day of the month you were most likely to get a ticket was the 13th of the month. State Police averaged handing out 480 tickets per day on the 13th. Compare that to the 31st, which averaged 428 tickets per day and the average on the 30th, 379 tickets per day. The least likely days to get tickets, the 1st and 2nd of the month.

The month of May was the most popular month to hand out tickets. In 2015, 8 of the top 10 ticketed days were in May. The other two were in April. In April and May, State Police receive a federal grant for enforcement.

“The grants are not intended to be anything but to improve highway safety. That’s what the data shows around the country is that enforcement is a big part of improving highway safety,” said Jeff Larason, Massachusetts Highway Safety Director.

(Is there a number that they have to hit in terms of enforcement to be eligible for this grant?) “No there aren’t any citation requirements, we ask as a guideline that they make 3 contacts, it’s up to their discretion whether they do a citation, a warning, or nothing at all,” said Larason.

The state police sent us this statement: “Those extra patrols, combined with good weather and more people on the roads, leads to more citations.”

The time you’re most likely to be ticketed is between 9:00 and 11:00 in the morning. The day of the week your mostly likely to get a ticket is on Saturday.

The State Police told the I-Team: “On weekends you do not have the congestion of commuting rush hours that would keep speeds down, and hence more people are able to speed.”

State Police often have sobriety checkpoints on Saturdays, so there are about 15 extra troopers on the roads for a few hours before the checkpoint starts.

Our analysis also showed that the most tickets were given out in Springfield in the last 3 months of 2015. State Police told the I-Team that was tied directly to enforcements due to the construction on I-91.

No amount of data will ever change everyone’s minds about what they see on the roads. “At the end of the month you see more people pulled over for no reason at all,” said Springfield’s John Perry.

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