Editorial: Nassau ticket drop-off goes on too long

A year ago, Nassau County police officials launched an investigation into plummeting ticketing by their department. After holding steady for years, the number of tickets written declined about 20 percent in the first eight months of 2011, compared with the same period in 2010.

Department leaders won't characterize it as an organized slowdown. They blame individual morale problems related to a wage freeze and a shrinking force due to Nassau's ongoing financial crisis.

The investigation found that 160 officers had written at least 50 percent fewer tickets than in the previous year, but officials could provide no explanation for the dropoff. Some officers were writing no tickets. Meanwhile, it looks like the number of tickets issued is going to drop another 10 percent for 2012.

Issuing too few tickets right now seems to be only a revenue issue. But it can become one of safety, too. Over time, experts say, ticketing unsafe driving saves lives. Failing to, it follows, costs lives.

Officials say the 160 officers involved have now been "counseled," the first level of departmental discipline.

There's been better news lately, with the last 28-day reporting period showing ticket numbers rebounding to 2011 levels, but that's still way below the norm for previous years. This issue took too long to address, and still isn't fixed. The dropoff began two years ago. The problem should have been spotted and addressed a lot faster, and, perhaps, more harshly.