It's STILL All About the NUMBERS...

In the first installment, I went into detail about "how" the FWPD COULD make some serious scratch by citing people with burned out license plate bulbs (a valid violation in the Fort Wayne ordinance books).
THIS time, we'll crunch some more figures regarding BOOMCARS (one of my *personal* favorites).

In a recent post to the FWPD discussion board, an officer stated the following:
((first citation for violation of noise ordinance from a vehicle is 250 dollars. second offense is 500, third is 750...i believe after 3 convictions the judge will order the equipment handed over to the courts..fyi this is a fort wayne city ordinance only and could differ outside fort wayne city limits..advice..if you must listen to your music loud, lower the bass, and roll the windows up..30 feet is not a significant distance... ))

Now...with THAT being said...let's do the math on this, shall we?

FACT: Last month (alone) in my neighborhood, we had about 390+ BOOMCARS driving about to all hours.
FACT: The FWPD "charges" $250 for the FIRST citation.
FACT: That comes to "about" $97,500.00! For ONE DAMN MONTH! That is....*IF* they had caught ALL of these jerkoffs...(which they obviously did'nt).
FACT: *IF* they had caught about 30% of them, the amount of revenue would still be about $32,500! Again, that's if the FWPD we're stringently ENFORCING the noise ordinance.

Which they apparently are NOT doing (sufficiently to satisfy my DESIRE for some peace and quiet).

I would be remiss if I didn't state that a LOT of those 390 boomcars LAST month were REPEAT offenders (and that can REALLY add up...can't it?) that SHOULD have been caught at least ONCE...don'cha think?

When I send pictures with license plate numbers of these chronic offenders to the FWPD, I'd *expect* something to come of MY part in this effort...well, that's what ANY citizen would EXPECT.

But sometimes, we must expect WAY TOO MUCH of the officers on the streets....aside from the FACT that it's been PROVEN that neighborhoods replete with BOOMCAR traffic quickly become havens for OTHER illicit activities (and I can say with conviction that observations such as that ARE true). Hell, I see (and hear) it EVERY DAMN DAY!

But yet...not much (if anything) gets done to quell this annoyance. Forget the fact that a traffic stop (for noise) could lead to an officer finding drugs or paraphenalia or even an illegal handgun in the vehicle, not to mention outstanding warrants... I read about routine traffic stops leading to this every day...just not too often around my area...lol!
That again would be hinting at some sort of PROACTIVE stance...and the police (in almost ANY major city) seem to be more a reactionary agency, than one noted for proactivity...I'd like to see that come around about 180 degrees! I'm more than willing to help them any way possible, and I think I've proven as much to them time and again.

If you don't take measures to nip things in the bud, then don't complain about needing more resources when budget time hits....mending fences after the horses get out is not the answer we, the taxpayers like to hear. You should have had a better fence IN PLACE...in the first place.

I hate to say it, but in THIS case...an OUNCE of prevention IS really worth a POUND of cure!