I agree - The sole purpose of these cards is to identify the person carrying it as a family member or friend of someone in law enforcement. This is to get the person preferential treatment if they are ever stopped by law enforcement, setting up a preferred class of people who are not going to be subject to the same laws and penalties as everyone else. There is no justifiable reason for these cards to be issued to friends and family members of law enforcement officers. They should be eliminated in their entirety, along with the mini "courtesy shields" that are given out for the same purpose. Flashing one of these cards during a traffic stop should also be made a crime as it is an overt attempt at influencing a police officer not to do his job similar to a bribe.

What do u expect law is just for citizens that have no connections same as having a sticker from fire dept on your car, the law is only for some thats justice

Will this work better than the doughnut I usually carry in my wallet?

Well since they are not illegal, can I have one please?

It's no different than the corporations that back politicians. Such as Goldman Sachs backing both Obama and Romney, thinking they'll get preferential treatment by either administration once they're in power. Anyone foolish enough to vote for one of the status quo candidates shouldn't mind the preferential treatment some people get from cops.

I say all bribery is wrong, whether it's the law enforcement or our politicians, that's why my vote is going to the only one that won't sway his vote. He strictly votes for the people, by the people, according to the constitution, every time!

Ron Paul 2012!

These are nothing new. My two good friends from high school both had cops as fathers. They both had a courtesy card. This is back in 1980!

Back then, they were fool proof. If the infraction was traffic related, these cards were 99.99% effective.

That said, the cards had the sponsoring police officer's name on it. This way the cop who was doing the traffic stop could verify both the card holder and the cop who issued it. If he knew your dad, you most likely were going to get an ass whoopin when you got home.

Not saying it's right... I'm only saying they've been around for years. The reason for them is simple... the sons and daughters of police officers are going to get out the ticket anyway. This was a way to cut down on the workload involved of removing tickets on-the-sly. It prevents them from being issued to begin with. Again, not saying it's right... only that this kinda thing has been around for decades.

you r right what a sick world a friend of mine works for a cops father he was told if u get pulled over drinking or anything say u work for me now this has worked more than once even a ticket ripped up in his face and said why didnt u say that before lol justice my ass and he is only a cops father

it is not descrimination if you purchase it. you have a right to purchase if you want. It should be a crime to have one or to buy or sell one that will close the door maybe??

in my state the cops get badges that go on the license plates so their families don't even get pulled over

Well, there is the website "cops writing cops" (I don't know if it exists any more - it's worth a look). These are rants posted by cops who have gotten tickets, and the whining and entitlement would be pathetic if it weren't so scary. Invariably, the offenders complain that the cop who wrote the ticket was "unprofessional", etc., and they never seem to see the irony.

Unfortunately we know that this professional courtesy extends to spousal abuse, drug crimes and abusing suspects....

well there's one incident, i'm sure she's gotten out of others though. even if she hasn't i know from personal experience that 2 wives of police officers i know have gotten out of running red lights, not stopping at a stop sign and speeding using them.

I agree. Don't think though that the kids are getting off scott free. When my husband gets pulled over and the cop finds out who his dad is, He lets him go and then calls his dad. My husband, who is a grown adult, then gets to explain why he choose to break whatever law he was breaking. My husband even has to apologize to the Command staff for his behavior and how he is not representing his father when he makes poor choices. So, we may not get tickets but normally we would rather a ticket than the lecture and apologies that the kids must do instead.

And to the articles point, if you are nice to the officer and it is a minor offense. You can normally get off with a warning. Just admit what you did and apologize. Officers are so used to people saying "It wasn't me" that honesty will get you a long way. So next time the officer says "Do you know why I pulled you over?" you say "Yes, I was going 50 in a 35 because I wasn't paying attention. I am sorry."

Tia, I guess things must be different in Oklahoma. I have had a license for 20 years now, and received a sum total of 4 tickets. How many times have I ever been pulled over? ...5 Three tickets for speeding and one for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign. Every time I have accepted responsibility, been very respectful, and explained why I was doing what I was stopped for.

1st Ticket - new car and was going 83 in a 70 zone on the interstate, and had no idea I was going so fast. I explained this to the officer and apologized for speeding. Result - Ticket.

2nd Ticket - Going 55 in a 45 because I was late getting my son to football practice. Result - Ticket.

3rd Ticket - Going 43 in a 25 because I was stupid and didn't realize the speed limit (former dirt road recently paved, but still the same speed limit). Result - Ticket.

4th Ticket - Very early in the morning I came to a stop sign at the intersection of a divided highway, thought I stopped completely and crossed the intersection (I saw the state trooper the whole time). Again, I didn't make excuses, just said I must not have been paying close enough attention and apologized. Result -ticket.

5th Time (No Ticket) - I was speeding (68 in a 55) to make it to the nursing home before my wife's grandmother passed away. In that instance the trooper let me go with a warning.

All that to say, I don't buy the whole argument that if you just be nice and don't make excuses, then most of the time they will let you off. Of course I am a man, and it could very well be different for men versus women.

Wow, Tia, you are one entitled, spoiled, piece of work.

You think an apology is hard?

Here in MA, insurance is required by law and a single ticket will make someone lose their good driver discount of 15-20% and increase their regular insurance rate by another 20% for the following three years (minimum) so this means a ticket costs the driver thousands beyond the original fine.

I think the rest of us would like the same opportunity to hear a lecture and apologize to avoid such penalties.

I wish I had the words to effectively communicate how awful a person I think you and your law-dodging family are, but I'm so frustrated that I'm reduced to a combination of grunts, sighs, and various hand gestures.

Thanks for offering up more proof of what awful people cops and their families truly are. Looks like we can add another brick of shame to that wall of blue...

"I am sorry, Iwas going 50 in a 35 because I wasn't paying attention". Tia, really?? if you knew it was a 35 zone, you knew you were breaking the law. So, you lied to the officer, he knows it, and 9 out of 10 times you will get a ticket, unless you are shoving the card or badge in his face. Next time you get stopped, don't mention who your father in law is, and see what happens to nice, but lying.

It's also cowardice and lack of honor, particularly when they claim at the same time to be held to a higher standard.

in other words the police are corrupt. shocking!

its all n america

If you don't think that it is not in Calif. you are dreaming. In 1993 I opened a new business (all new businesses information goes to the police) and soon received a call from a local police outfit asking for a donation to support the police's DARE program. Having just put almost every dollar into my business I put the caller off. He quickly informed me that with a $500 donation I would get special stickers with the local police's emblem and a statement "I support the local Police" for my car's bumper and for the business's front windows. These stickers would keep me from getting any tickets from all California law enforcement agencies and that my business which was in an area that had experienced a number of break-ins would get better protection. After explaining that I had always been a supporter of the police but that I was currently out of cash he started threatening that the police knew where I lived and what kind of a car I owned as well as where my business was. I asked for his name and badge number; he hung up. I called the police and made a complaint over the phone. I was told that yes they had a drive for DARE currently going on but without knowing which officer was involved they could do nothing. The officer that I made the report to confirmed that some officers did give out the stickers for a large donation but that the stickers would not guarantee anything extra as far as he knew. He recommended that I drop my complaint as nothing good could come from it. I told the guy who owned the business next to me about it and he showed me the sticker on his truck and said that he had been stopped by police several times for speeding and that when the officer saw the sticker on the truck they thanked him for his support and guess what - NO TICKET I really felt that I had been shaken down but I took my chances and never paid them.

John;

You should learn that the people that call you soliciting cash for these programs are NOT Police Officers. They ARE a fund raising outfit that takes a significant cut of the money that is donated as there fee. Check it out on line, There are plenty of websites that will expose the scams.

The "sticker" this guy offered you is pure nonsense and any cop that bases issuing or not issuing a ticket on it is NOT a good cop.

After a google search, I rescind my comment. Still, considering the PBA card at all is not helping this story.

So what if he can tell you where he got the PBA card? Do you let him off then?

I think it's spelled Captain Moron

lol how can u blame a union they dont give the cards to friends and relatives

My understanding from the article and an internet search is the union prints them up to promote brotherhood among officers. I don't think they officers would do this by themselves (or at least hope not).

There's a big difference between bartering services and being held to a lower standard when the law is applied.

Does this mean I have to rake a cop's leaves before he'll investigate when my house gets broken into?

But, of course, I knew it would only be a matter of time before somebody said, essentially, "But everybody does it". Do you think a cop would accept this excuse?

Excuse me, but cops are not "service providers" in the sense that they are entrepreneurs who do things like clean your gutters or grout your bathroom tile. Their authority exists in order to maintain order and safety within our society. Justice and order are not commodities to be bartered based on who you know. These cards are not "professional courtesy" - they are corruption, pure and simple.

No, it doesn't mean you have to rake a cop's lawn. That's hysteria. But certainly if you had a close personal relationship with an officer it probably wouldn't hurt to speed things along!

Cops have discretion with how they choose to enforce the law or whether or not they believe a punishable crime may have been committed, that's why it is possible to talk your way out of a ticket in the first place. It is also why cops don't just bust everybody who goes 10 MPH over the limit - they are waiting for bigger fish! They are exercising discretion. Would you rather have robots and cameras just handing out impersonal summons without any form of human recourse? That is the alternative to ending the discretion of police officers and most people loathe it. These cards are not a system. They are an extension of a form of name dropping that exists in every police force on the planet, even in your town. In fact the cards probably cut down on this form of leniency. The cards are single use. They certainly won't work unless you have a name associated with it, so the guy selling them is just ripping people off.

We all rely on our personal connections and human skills to get us out of tickets or for other uses in life. Is it wrong to drop a name when applying for a job because it is unfair to other applicants? Is it wrong to get preferential treatment and lower prices when buying a car because you know the owner's son? If you can find a way to influence an officer's discretion in your favor you would use it too, whether that comes in the form of a card or a flirty look. Don't be so quick to knock it. Besides, we aren't talking about serious offenses here.

I knew a kid who got out of being arrested because he did a stint in the military (in peacetime). All of his friends got arrested. They were publicly intoxicated. This type of thing is as old as time and if you can't find an advantage for yourself when dealing with the law, looking for a job, buying services, etc. then you aren't trying hard enough. The world runs on human relationships.

Of course police should have discretion. But not based on whether you're carrying the right card or not. Your examples all involve commerce, not justice - what SHOULD be two totally different realms. I acknowledge there is some overlap, but the ridiculous cards that cops hand out only encourage unequal treatment. And you site all sorts of innocuous examples, but I know of more than a few cases where people have gotten out of far more serious offenses, like DUIs. In commerce, you work your connections, but in law and justice, everyone should be starting from the same level - anything else goes against the principles that underlie our entire government.

the police are NOT a business, they are meant to be executing the law, not making deals and favors, as this is actually ILLEGAL. the cards should be illegalized as they are an instrument of corruption. if someone deserves a ticket, their status as a friend to police is irrelevant and profiling comes into context. just another form and sign of the ingrained corruption and just another form of nepotism. its bad enough that most cops act like teenage boys with a gun, possibly the most uprofessional group as a whole. just another way for the police to break the law while hiding under the umbrella of the police, always protecting the injustices carried out daily because they are the "police"...what a joke the police have become in our country

So, You are crooked and "accidentally" flash the badge, to try and get out of a ticket. You CERTAINLY don't DESERVE a "Gold NYPD Courtesy Badge" as you've NEVER been a law enforcement officer. Nope, you like being a part of a crooked system> Instead of angling for a "special" treatment, man-up and take your ticket and punishment and QUIT playing "marine".

I see stories about reporters all the time. If you would like examples, let me know.

Also, why would it be a conflict of interest?