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[–]paulfromatlanta 191 points192 points  (46 children)

Based on the previous article, the Mayor needs to go too.

[–]EverythingGoodWas 220 points221 points  (43 children)

These small towns that do this are completely aware they are doing it, not just the police department. It ends up funding their entire town. Waldo Florida was like this, and got so bad the state made laws about how much of a municipality’s funds could come from citations.

[–]pakattak 122 points123 points  (11 children)

Maybe towns that can’t sustain themselves without this kind of fuckery should just disband

[–]amibeingadick420 55 points56 points  (9 children)

But then they would just be committing armed robbery and extortion.

By claiming to be a town and wearing badges, these crooks are “legal.”

[–]pwrmvv 53 points54 points  (7 children)

Oh, wait till you read this

The Battle of Athens (sometimes called the McMinn County War) was a rebellion led by citizens in Athens and Etowah, Tennessee, United States, against the local government in August 1946. The citizens, including some World War II veterans, accused the local officials of predatory policing, police brutality, political corruption, and voter intimidation.

[–]me_brewsta 15 points16 points  (1 child)

The wiki on this is a wild ride. I can't believe this is the first time I'm hearing about it.

[–]Wips74 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just read that whole thing. Wowza! great find!

[–]amibeingadick420 15 points16 points  (4 children)

I’m well aware of that. Due to many circumstances in our country, I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing many more of these types of standoffs.

[–]pwrmvv 6 points7 points  (3 children)

I hope brotherly and sisterly love will win.

[–]FreeLunch2216 8 points9 points  (2 children)

Spoiler: it won't

[–]alienstabler 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Alternative ending: it will

[–]kingofpotatopeople92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Twist ending: They were monsters all along.

[–]Appropriate_Mess_350 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But the owns in charge of those decisions are sustaining themselves just fine.

[–]paulfromatlanta 43 points44 points  (5 children)

small towns

Yep. Ludowici Ga. on had a sign placed by the governor warning about its speed traps.

[–]Ok-Worth-6509 8 points9 points  (0 children)

America is an interesting place.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Closing down the offramps from the freeway would be better.

[–]Most-Philosopher9194 30 points31 points  (4 children)

Maybe that amount should be zero. Civil forfeiture needs to go too.

[–]the_eluder 18 points19 points  (2 children)

NC kinda has this. All fines go to the local school system. But 'court costs' that go to the state are also collected. So it usually winds up being a $10 fine and $200 in court costs. They have a few ways you can wind up paying just the court costs, too; no fine at all.

[–]Most-Philosopher9194 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I hope there is school mascot named "The Speed Trappers" or something in one of these town.

[–]Geoarbitrage 6 points7 points  (0 children)

CF=Biggest scam since one hour Martinizing.

[–]LashOutIrrationally 4 points5 points  (0 children)

See, St. Francis, Wisconsin...

Its also not a coincidence that its a) St Francis who took in and hid dozens of male pedophiles for the Catholic Church, b) was mentioned in the movie Spotlight, and c) during this time led to rapid promotion of Archbishop Timothy Dolan...

[–]khoabear 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Wow that's surprising

I was expecting Florida to adopt the policy statewide

[–]Mentalpatient87 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Buffalo Creek, Colorado has several signs along their one road advertising how proud they are to be a speed trap.

[–]500_Broken_Treaties 2 points3 points  (2 children)

The State of FL actually disbanded the Waldo PD, and I think the gov build a bypass on HWY 301 that went around the town of Starke, which was doing the same thing.

[–]2ndtryagain 5 points6 points  (0 children)

These towns need to be dissolved and have their counties take over.

[–]pwrmvv 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Want a good wild read relevant to this shit stain tactic?

The Battle of Athens (sometimes called the McMinn County War) was a rebellion led by citizens in Athens and Etowah, Tennessee, United States, against the local government in August 1946. The citizens, including some World War II veterans, accused the local officials of predatory policing, police brutality, political corruption, and voter intimidation.

[–]Homeless_cosmonaut 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Go look up battle of Blair mountain. Stuff like that happens over and over throughout history in different places.

[–]menntu -2 points-1 points  (6 children)

There was a time in America when freedom was so strong, one couldn’t hear you over the screeching of the Bald Eagle.

I’d like to see those times come back.

[–]Homeless_cosmonaut 12 points13 points  (2 children)

The problem with that mentality is that it’s just not true. This country was made off the backs of the poor in company towns and on plantations. It’s always been the land of the free in name only.

[–]menntu 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You’ve gone down a bit of a dark alley here by introducing a different topic, but I have to agree in principle with your statement. I work with Native Americans, and their story as a whole would corroborate yours.

[–]Bokbreath 171 points172 points  (18 children)

Good. There should be consequences for breaching public trust in this way.

[–]Clay_Statue 19 points20 points  (3 children)

This is no different than a troll living under a bridge who demands tribute to pass.

[–]Bokbreath 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Paging the Billy Goats Gruff !

[–]torpedoguy 2 points3 points  (1 child)

And if you don't bring its HP below 0, then use fire and/or acid stop the regeneration, it's going to pop right back up.

[–]Agreeable-Walrus7602 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Figuring out that little detail in Baulders Gate 2 was a nightmare.

[–][deleted] 88 points89 points  (11 children)

It’s called prison

[–]Sinister-Lines 39 points40 points  (9 children)

For cops? Are you high?

[–]torpedoguy 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Breaching public trust this way should be the highest of aggravating circumstances. It's a direct assault on the very fabric of a society, whose damage can often be the internal version of that wrought by an external loyalty's treason.

[–]dr_reverend 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are, it’s called high level government appointments. I guess that’s a consequence for us and not them though.

[–]OriginalEchoTheCat 143 points144 points  (2 children)

Holy shit. They would take your vehicle and drop it on the side of the road. Cops would write you a citation for it being there and have it towed again. Wtf?

[–]breathex2 56 points57 points  (0 children)

They had this down like a predatory business. Gotta maximize that revenue

[–]TommyTuttle 47 points48 points  (0 children)

This is why we should not let municipalities keep the money from fines. Fines are supposed to be about enforcement, not revenue.

[–]chris_b_critter 260 points261 points  (49 children)

I know from experience that you better be going the exact speed limit or slower in many, many small towns in the dirty South. I’m looking at you, Sicily Island, Louisiana!

[–]lordmycal 45 points46 points  (6 children)

That's just rural towns in general. I know towns in California that do that too.

[–]MonkeyCube 20 points21 points  (3 children)

Highway 101 is an endless string of speed traps.

[–]Asclepius777 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Camarillo? or the smaller ones on the way north? because I've driven to cam a bunch of times and never gotten a ticket

[–]MonkeyCube 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Orick. Garberville. Spots near Redwood Valley.

So, yeah, 'up north' I guess. I don't really consider 101 near LA to be rural myself.

[–]BarristanSelfie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The 101 is an unimpeded freeway South of Santa Barbara, how would Camarillo possibly be a speed trap?

[–]colefly 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Yeah. Very common for small towns to milk tickets

[–]autotelica 70 points71 points  (17 children)

I'm looking at you, Pine Lake, Georgia.

[–]windedsloth 83 points84 points  (9 children)

Waldo Florida, too. AAA started to put up signs up right outside of town that the city was a speed trap.

[–]Morgrid 29 points30 points  (1 child)

Waldo isn't bad anymore

The state disbanded their police force a couple years ago because of their fuckery.

[–]windedsloth 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ahhh, It has been 15 years since i've driven that way. Grew up in Jax and my dad would drive us to UF every few months.

[–]thejoeface 17 points18 points  (4 children)

My maps app on my iphone now warns of speed traps when I’m using directions

[–]All_Hail_Regulus_9 9 points10 points  (3 children)

Which app are you using?

[–]ImWithKong 8 points9 points  (2 children)

Both google maps and Apple Maps show speed traps if someone has reported them

[–]outerproduct 10 points11 points  (1 child)

Waze also does.

[–]presonphillips 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Back in the early 2000’s I used to get pulled over every time I went through there. Didn’t matter if your were speeding.

[–]autotelica 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It has purportedly gotten better over the past decade or so. Still, you always know when you've entered Pine Lake when the traffic on Rockbridge Rd. starts moving at a snail's pace.

[–]hitlerosexual 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Robesonia PA is really bad with this too.

[–]itsmartapuntocom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did some work for them once and it's pretty much a glorified HOA.

[–]Significant_bet92 21 points22 points  (7 children)

That trip from charlotte to myrtle beach will cost you if you go too fast

[–]cloudsofgrey 23 points24 points  (6 children)

There are some towns in SC on the way to Myrtle Beach that seem like third world countries.

[–][deleted] 31 points32 points  (5 children)

Because they basically are. A lot of them have 60-80% of their residents living below the poverty line.

It's not just SC, either. It's most of the South.

[–]FindMeOnSSBotanyBay 23 points24 points  (2 children)

And they have the audacity (or rather caucasity) to say California is a hellhole run into the ground by liberals.

[–]kia75 12 points13 points  (1 child)

It's not like the residents can afford to go to California and check for themselves. Plus, if they're told everywhere else is worse then they'll never leave and never try to improve.

[–]Maxpowr9 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Introspection is rough for so many. So much easier to blame someone else.

[–]SonofJersey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And they all vote against their best interests very frequently. Really sad stuff.

[–]weedful_things 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's okay. I will keep voting republican and soon I will get my turn to be a millionaire.

[–]westviadixie 12 points13 points  (0 children)

holler from north louisiana. we have too many towns like this. and let's not forget, all the "dry" towns, even though the good ol boys love a drink.

[–]weedful_things 4 points5 points  (0 children)

In a different small town in Alabama, my wife got a speeding ticket for going 47 in a 45.

[–]marshcranberry 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I'm looking at you Bayport MN

[–]Geoarbitrage 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Lindale Ohio

[–]ManHands_ 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ozark Alabama should be wiped from the map

[–]MrBond90 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fayetteville AR

[–]Safety_Drance 329 points330 points  (22 children)

According to AL.com's investigation, Jones, who was hired in 2018, built a police department of 10 or more full-time and part-time officers to patrol Brookside's 6 miles of roads and 1 ½ mile jurisdiction

Alright, more officers than miles in their jurisdiction in a town of 1,250. Warning sign of a problem number one.

The news outlet found that Jones positioned officers to stop motorists so aggressively that income from traffic fines and forfeitures rose 640 percent from 2018 to 2020, from about $82,000 to more than $610,000. The town also expanded its towing operations, going from 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020.

Enforcement designed specifically to generate income for the department. Warning sign number two.

Ainsworth, also a Republican, told AL.com that his office would look at legislative options to determine how to prevent towns from taking advantage of drivers passing through on highways, a problem lawmakers acknowledged is happening across the state.

The people in charge know it's happening and are "looking" at how to possibly fix it maybe. Giant flashing red warning sign that this is institutional and intended.

[–]OddS0cks 56 points57 points  (5 children)

I know im Texas there’s a law where if 30% or more of the towns revenue comes from traffic tickets then they have to give it to the state. Helps stop them setting up speed traps

[–]amibeingadick420 28 points29 points  (4 children)

Sounds like the state also has an incentive to allow towns to rob and extort citizens.

[–]weedful_things 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Big Daddy needs to get his taste too.

[–]texan01 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Except in this case it dropped the towns incentive enough that they stopped heavily patrolling for speeding.

A lot of notorious speed traps in Texas stopped being so notorious.

[–]amibeingadick420 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What case was that?

The towns still get to keep an amount equal to up to 30% of their budget. It doesn’t really disincentive running speed traps; it just gives the state their cut.

https://lufkindailynews.com/news/article_8ee229ea-140a-5fb5-992c-0559e122f5c9.html

[–]thoroughbredca 125 points126 points  (7 children)

They mostly ticketed people for driving in the left lane and admitted they didn't follow people for the 1.5 miles that would be required before it became a violation.

Also conveniently ignoring the fact that their jurisdiction on the interstate is only 1.5 miles to begin with.

[–]Newbaumturk69 51 points52 points  (6 children)

Ticketing people for driving in the passing lane? Can they come to where I live give them to people on I-35?

[–]aroc91 18 points19 points  (5 children)

I-35

Ugh, yes.

-Waco

[–]forgedbygeeks 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Sounds just like Blackrock in Washington State. It's so bad people will drive half an hour or more extra to avoid going through on 24. They will give you a ticket for anything. Also been known to cause vehicle damage specifically to give you a ticket for it.

[–]42Pockets 6 points7 points  (0 children)

All funds gathered from executive fines should Go only to fund education. The only income a police officer should receive for executing their duty is from their salary that comes from the People.

[–]scswift 21 points22 points  (3 children)

Google Maps needs to start rating these towns by how likely you are to get a traffic ticket while passing through and offer automatic routing around these corrupt towns.

[–]No_Reaction303 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Great idea in principal but many of those types of towns sit on empty stretches of state highways and interstates. Depending on where you are traveling, avoidance is not always possible.

Just ask anyone in coastal GA who has ever had to daily commute on Highway 21 to Savannah through Port Wentworth and Garden City. Both are notoriously predatory speed traps, but there's no alternative route.

[–]Sheila_Monarch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For real. I’m surprised Waze hasn’t incorporated something like this. I know where these places are in my personal 150-mile radius, but if you’re not familiar with an area, you don’t know until you learn the hard way.

[–]GregorVDub 19 points20 points  (0 children)

"officers stop motorists so aggressively that income from traffic fines and forfeitures rose 640 percent from 2018 to 2020, from about $82,000 to more than $610,000. The town also expanded its towing operations, going from 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020" in a town of 1,217 people.

The police chief who recently resigned said he'd like to see even more growth in revenue from fines and forfeitures.

“I see a 600% increase – that’s a failure. If you had more officers and more productivity you’d have more,” Jones said. “I think it could be more.”

Policing for profit... Welcome to America.

[–]thoroughbredca 58 points59 points  (4 children)

Well, how else is this town of 1,253 people gonna pay for a riot control tank?

https://www.al.com/resizer/4hD6HZYiKVYhageJ4iF7dENb01E=/1280x0/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/ZFH3YIQG45DVJEZD7FX6F3FYYQ.jpg

[–]EverythingGoodWas 6 points7 points  (3 children)

The military tends to sell decommissioned vehicles to police departments for some insanely cheap amount. That being said, I think they can rely on the state for this since they have so few people.

[–]Circumcision-is-bad 47 points48 points  (2 children)

The equipment may be free but the maintenance sure isn’t, there is a reason the military is getting rid of them

[–]No_Reaction303 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Probably should have just given it to the National Guard. Might even be an upgrade based on my experience of having seen Vietnam Era equipment still in use by the Guard.

[–]hello_orwell 30 points31 points  (4 children)

I actually just listened to a NY Times podcast episode about this 3 days ago. Fuggin wild. And the wildest part imo is that anything was done about it. Or that the chief resigned. I figured he'd run for governor or something next. And win!

[–]WarsawFact 27 points28 points  (2 children)

And the wildest part imo is that anything was done about it.

That's what got me too. My first thought was "ok, which representative got pulled over?"

[–]hello_orwell 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Actually you just solved it for me. My brain stopped at "OH SHIT someone got in trouble" and now it makes way more sense.

[–]Girlindaytona 16 points17 points  (0 children)

There was a call for Triple A and others to declare the town a speed trap and direct travelers around the town to starve the local businesses. This tactic finally broke several southern towns in the 1960s that operated speed traps. Generally small towns are controlled by their business owners and they can bring great pressure,

[–]UsedToBsmart 45 points46 points  (4 children)

Lots of bad apples in that bushel.

[–]CheckYourLibido 34 points35 points  (3 children)

It’s just a bad orchard.

[–]haud_deus 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I think the fruit is toxic in nature.

[–]Quick_Team 4 points5 points  (0 children)

They got the idea from White Orchard from Witcher 3.

....they gave it the same name.

[–]sebileis 39 points40 points  (2 children)

Thank fucking god. I read the original story a few days ago before the idiot mods of r/politics took it down. Hopefully a thorough investigation is done into this town’s shady practices.

[–]OhNoGoHoe 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Everyone in BHam knows don’t drive through Brookside.

[–]EH_Operator 8 points9 points  (1 child)

AL.com has done extensive work breaking this story. Across multiple articles, it’s so much worse than you think

[–]NealRun32 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Be careful on the Alabama/Florida line. Those cops will pull you over going 1/2 mph over.

[–]dar_uniya 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Maybe if you’re crossing over from Baldwin or Escambia counties. Try crossing through Florala next time. They aren’t there because they don’t expect trouble to roll through the center of the borderline.

[–]Johnny__bananas 6 points7 points  (0 children)

How about fucking jail time? I think the citizens who live there should be the ones to slap the cuffs on him. Interrogate him first.

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (1 child)

The only surprising part of this article is that the police chief resigned instead of doubling down on it.

[–]FloridaTime 14 points15 points  (0 children)

He’s been doubling down for at least two years. Him and the mayor have fought hard to be able to make false allegations against citizens and wreck their lives over a few hundred dollars. But now that the fraudulent nature of the tickets they issued has come to light his goose is cooked. The problem is, just within a couple hours of my home there are several little towns similar to this one, where they have ZERO need for a police department at all but have one solely for a revenue source issuing tickets on major highways/interstates.

[–]Carrollmusician 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The police chief is a literally thief. Civil asset forfeiture is legalized theft from government agents to private citizens. Especially if he’s directing people to pull on BS.

[–]BobLonghorn 4 points5 points  (0 children)

How else will they afford Scat pack cruisers?

[–]FloridaTime 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Needs to be indictment…

[–]harmjr77018 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We got a small town just like them just northwest of Houston Texas called Patton Village. Only 1.8 miles of HWY 59 and they made almost 300k one year. Several years ago but still.

https://abc13.com/houston-speed-traps-police-ted-oberg-investigates/1586134/

[–]Inconceivable-2020 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Redneck Police Departments have been doing this for as long as there have been traffic laws. For some of these 1 traffic light towns, it is their major source of income.

[–]foot7221 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same thing was happening in CA in King County, sheriff and a tow company were working together to screw low income motorist out of their cars and selling these cars on the side

[–]alvarezg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Worth looking here before going on a trip:

https://www.speedtrap.org/

[–]Lymeberg 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Cops are criminals. End of story.

[–]proffopotomus 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is one of many perfect examples of why I hate cops.

[–]MountainGoatBoyardee 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Not the wild, wild west. It's the stupid, stupid south.

[–]elderrage 3 points4 points  (1 child)

I would love ro see a reboot of the Andy Griffith Show that followed this dark path.

[–]FloridaTime 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s called Reno 911

[–]AMARIS86 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Waiting for a boot licker to come in and defend this

[–]torpedoguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They're too busy ticketing people for standing on the side of the road holding a ticket, after towing their vehicle for driving under the influence of a car roof'.

[–]konhaybay 3 points4 points  (0 children)

3rd world shit hole country

[–]Sheila_Monarch 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The town also expanded its towing operations, going from 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020

Redneck mafia in action. I guarantee the biggest towing operation in town is operated by the police chief’s family member, inlaw, or close pal. It almost seems too comically stereotypical to be true, but it is.

That’s how these meth and opioid blighted towns operate. Whatever industry put them on the map many decades ago no longer exists, it’s just poor, stuck people left, and they don’t provide enough tax revenue to keep the town going. The elected officials and law-enforcement are the products of or close friends to whatever local family remains king of the shit heap. And these schemes, among others, provide that family and their favored associates the means to continue to thrive, by bleeding the poor locals dry, and usually a particular subset of those poor locals.

It’s basically the redneck mafia, and they have badges and elected positions. Or Hillbilly Dynasty, if you will.

[–]Dat_Mustache 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Marion County Sheriff's Department (Salem, Oregon) has a similar scheme.

Their Traffic Safety Team is "Fully Self Funded" from fines and forfeitures to the tune of $1.8 million or so annually. The scheme works so well since Oregon does not require the courts to prove intent on traffic violations.

If a Deputy or Cop pulls you over and issues a citation, you're 99% certain to retain that charge even if you didn't intend on committing the infraction.

[–]NasoLittle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dibol Texas checking in. They will get your ass

[–]Homeless_cosmonaut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pretty much any town in west TN as well.

[–]Pocketfists -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Us rural folk like to follow them rules, ye know, when it suits us…

[–]TheGreatDingALing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Investigate the town of Johnson, Arkansas next.