Police quotas, known more formally as departmental standards, involve the practice of setting specific targets for arrests, citations, or stops within our communities. Prioritizing quantity over genuine public safety is intended to demonstrate productivity or effectiveness. Where officers meet or exceed their quotas are often awarded pizza, barbeque, and gift cards; departmental standards result in unnecessary or unjustified engagement with the public which often results in unfair and unlawful enforcement actions that harm the innocent.

Police Quotas are Real

For anyone who would deny the existence of police quotas, simply ask an honest police officer. In this YouTube video, 10 New York Police Department officers go on a local television station blow the whistle what they describe as unlawful departmental standards. The Brennan Center for Justice (“BC”) put it flatly, “Police quotas don’t make communities safer — they prevent officers from focusing on larger public safety issues.” BC’s research illustrates that police quotas divert attention from authentic safety concerns, incentivizing officers to target minor infractions to meet departmental expectations. This misalignment between quotas and genuine public safety needs ultimately deteriorates community relations and compromises civil liberties.

More Stops ≠ Less Crime

Quota-driven practices lower the threshold for police engagement. Officers facing pressure to meet arbitrary standards may initiate stops or searches without any reasonable justification. This not only escalates tensions because such policies tend to make criminals out of law-abiding citizens, but it undermines trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

Poor Communities are Easy Targets

Economically disadvantaged communities bear the brunt of these practices. Residents in poorer neighborhoods are less likely to possess the resources needed to challenge unjust citations or arrests effectively. Consequently, they're often more vulnerable to exploitation by quota-driven policies, perpetuating cycles of poverty, disenfranchisement, and mistrust toward law enforcement. 

Good old-fashioned Police Work

Good old-fashioned police work must operate on foundations of reasonable suspicion and physical evidence and not feelings, implicit bias, or fishing expeditions. Public safety should never be reduced to arbitrary numerical targets. Instead, law enforcement strategies must prioritize meaningful, justified, and community-oriented interactions. 

Admitting There is a Problem

The first step towards reforming the use of police quotas is for local law-enforcement agencies to acknowledge that they really do exist and do little to promote public safety. Until that happens, police effectiveness will continue to be measured by an insatiable appetite to stop, ticket, search and arrest civilians who overwhelmingly are not involved in violent or illicit activities. ~