Evening star., 1955-03-06
Traffic Ticket Center Makes
Money, But Does 1t 'Educote'?
The Central Violations Ri,

ViOiC/IDUtIO
The Central Violations Bu-
reau, launched last fall, has
completed its first six months OF
operation with traffic officials
vague about whether it is &C
compishing its original pur-
poses.
That it has been q money
maker is easy to determine. On
an annual budget of $4,000, il
had collected more than 1884, 900
up to February 20. This is $780,
900 more than was collected un-
der the old system Of precinct
booking during the same period
q year ago.
But police and court officials
emphasize that collecting a lot
Of cash from motorists is not a
purpose of the bureau. They
would rather have it teach the
motorist to respect the law. but
say it is too early to tell whether
that is being done.
Started Last August.
The bureau began operation
last August 10 to provide a Gen.
trail place for handling parking
tickets issued by District and
Park Police. Selling points at
that time were:-
/. It would make ticket Elk
ing" virtually impossible.
2. 1t would save the Police De-
partment so man-years annually
and free police for more impor-
tant enforcement duty.
8. It would eliminate the en-
barrassment to drivers Of being
booked at a precinct station
like q common criminal.
a. It would bring to justice
an estimated 100000 out-of-
town motorists who annually ig-
nored parking tickets under the
old system.
S. It would clear up a back
log of some $500, 900 in uncol-
lected collateral or fines.
6. 1t would bolster the morale
Of policemen.
Fixing" Still Possible.
That it has not made ticket
fixing impossible is clear from
the weekly reports issued by the
Police Department, listing the
number Of tickets adjusted ir
each precinct.
Deputy Chief John J. Agnew
head of the Traffic Division, and
Deputy Chief Howard v. Covell
executive officer Of the Police
Department, say that it has re-
suited in a sizeable cut in the
tickets adjusted. Exact figures
however, are difficult to obtain
For one thing, there are M
figures available on the number
of tickets individual policemen
adjusted under the old system
Under the new set-up it is i'm
possible for a policeman to teal
up a ticket he has issued, be-
cause he must send a copy oi
each ticket to the bureau.
There have been isolated in
stances of policemen, under the
new system. taking the ticket
and paying the collateral them.
selves, rather than admit to
friends that they no longer have
influence.
Captains Differ.
The matter of adjusting tick
cts goes to two extremes. On
one end are precinct captains
who take the view that they
will adjust no tickets, passing
complaints along to Corporation
Counsel Clark F. King. charged
under the set-up with issuing
mo papers" on motorists who
have legitimate complaints.
On the other end are precinct
captains who give full attention
to each complaint, investigating
each thoroughly. For example,
a motorist who received a ticket
for parking illegally complained
that he had had transmission
trouble and had left his car to
seek a tow truck. The auto then
had been towed to a nearby fill
ing station and garage for repair
The precinct captain sent q
policeman to talk to the tow
truck driver and the garage man.
The policeman learned that the
motorists story was true, and the
ticket was withdrawn.
Walter Bramhall, deputy clerk
Of Municipal Court, heads the
CVB Office in the court building
His cumulative totals for the first