Letter: Cops should write more tickets

Newsday reports that in Nassau County through August 2011 there were 110,000 traffic tickets issued by police officers ["Traffic ticket probe," News, Oct. 12]. That's fewer than six summonses per police officer (2,390 Nassau officers) per month.

Fewer summonses no doubt pleases most drivers. Even considering that as many as half of Nassau police are not in uniform, the total number of summonses issued is still beyond comprehension. If an officer is on patrol 20 days in a month, six summonses a month is woefully inadequate. I live on Long Island, and it doesn't take long to spot a traffic violation.

A moving violation corrects a problem driver. It prevents accidents and saves lives. An example is the red-light cameras. They are brutally effective. On Long Island before the cameras, drivers went through intersections two or three seconds after lights turned red. That no longer occurs. Long Island drivers are much less aggressive at all intersections as a result of a relatively small number of cameras.

Nobody likes getting a summons, but they serve an important purpose. I think we can all agree that a portion of a police officer's job is writing summonses.

Newsday reports that the Nassau County Police Department is investigating the reasons for a drop in summonses. Instead of investigating, the police department should return to its mission of safeguarding the public.

Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter's theories on possible reasons for the decline -- last winter's severe weather, the effectiveness of red-light cameras, more drivers following the speed limit or the retirement of some high-output ticket writers -- are beyond simplistic. So here is some really simple advice: Have your officers do their job before technology takes it over. Don't waste time and money on a nonsensical investigation.

Steve Donnelly, New Hyde Park

Editor's note: The writer is a defensive-driving instructor.