Los Angeles Police claim no large increase in traffic stops, but increase in violations is up big-time, up to triple. Drivers can now expect citations totaling $600-$1000, what one driver deems "the equivalent of bankruptcy". Expect those extras to be added on.
With 1.83 million traffic violations tickets issued nationwide, the city of Los Angeles averages about 5000 traffic tickets per day, a bit of an increase from 2009-but stops aren't the problem for California drivers, police issued traffic violations of up to triple the number are the big problem. There may not be a huge increase in traffic stops for police issued citations, but there is a big increase for violations--translating to a big increase out of your pocket. You could even be tripling what you've paid for a Los Angeles traffic ticket in the past.
Say a speeding ticket violation in Los Angeles is in the range of about $300 before taxes, fees and Court Costs. That was then, this is now: get pulled over in Los Angeles now, and expect total ticket cost to start at a $500 minimum and head straight to $1000 dollars-that's right, a thousand bucks. That's before all the taxes and Court fees, and all those good things that add up. So why are Los Angeles Police Officers now throwing the book at drivers, ensuring they're nit-picking for whatever violations possible to add to that citation? First take a glance at State of California finances: the Los Angeles Police force seems to be maximizing its manpower, making sure that for each stop, the police officer is able to tack on as many violations as possible; some easy-to-add violation additions: cell phone violations, window tinting, hard-to-read license plates, missing front license plates, late registration, and more.
The latest in issuance of multiple violations per stop have backed up the Los Angeles Court system even further. The California Courts have already experienced layoffs, and are set for another round of layoffs; as of now, Court closures are certain, multiple days per month, which throw that foot traffic into one of the remaining open Court days. If you plan to contest that traffic speeding citation, you won't be going to Court for it right away-in fact not for at least 6 months now; that's the good part; the not-so-good part is that, if you are contesting your citation in a courtroom trial, you'll now need to defend not only one violation (i.e. speeding), but now whichever two or three violations the police officer threw in during issuance; if the average person wasn't intimidated before, they will be now, in having to present Defense for separate violations.
But probably the biggest deterrant, and sheer genius on behalf of the Los Angeles Police Department: all of these extra violations the police are tacking onto your one ticket means a) they don't have to stop any more frequenty nor any more people, while still increasing their revenue. b) now there is physically even more people waiting in the Traffic area lines at the Courthouse. While the police officer has been simultaneously racking up multiple violations, which take longer to address in Court as several issues rather than one, the Courts simultatenously have less employees to be handling the increased work. The one-time live operator availability, for Los Angeles Traffic Division, is no longer to be had; you'll get either a straight automated message, or you'll need to head down to the Court in person with any questions. And there you will find the kicker: the increased violations, coupled with lack of employees, now means that the Courts estimate a standard 5-hour or longer wait, whether it's simply to talk with someone or to pay the ticket.
Of course, LAPD has made it easy for drivers to assume automatic guilt and just pay that $1000 citation online, so that you can avoid those physical Court lines; strange how coincidental that seems: almost like Los Angeles PD is going to see a greater and faster revenue, simply through not giving people an opportunity to fight a ticket when those people are unable to skip out of work for 5-6 hours straight. Groups are already screaming 'civil rights violations'. The true genius part: word alone spreads, even without the personal factor, and will result in people simply not going into Court at all. Rather than lose five hours of their lives, people are simply going to pay that ticket,if they can, and get on with things. The irony: the people that can't afford to pay that ticket are going to need to miss more than half a day of work, in order to stand in the Court's Traffic Counter lines.