A question: if lots of people are driving faster than the legal limit, maybe the speed limit is too low? Our police have way more important things to do than spend all their time enforcing traffic laws- it has become too huge a part of their job.

Posted: Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Article comment by: Tom Bermingham

I can't believe the "Photo Radar" sites work. When a sign warning you are entering a Photo Radar area, I see brakes lights come on, traffic slows down and after passing beyond the photo radar vehicle traffic resumes to it's usual high rate of speed. THEY DON'T WORK! Only a police officer with a ticket book will work. I personally think there should be increased traffic enforcement. In travelling down Hwy 89, North or South bound, it is dangerous. People DO NOT observe speed limit signs. Meeting one of our Police Officers and having to dig into ones money pocket, maybe several times, may make a person think about the speed limit! So, Please increase traffic control, especially on Hwy 89 through Chino Valley.

Posted: Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Article comment by: Ed

My father was a police officer for over 20 years. There are no "quotas" when it comes to writing tickets. However.......if a police officer isn't writing traffic tickets then he isn't doing his job. A cop who doesn't write tickets isn't seen under a good light because everybody knows there are tons of traffic violations out there. If your not writing tickets then your either asleep or loafing. So by the end of the month if a police officer hasn't written enough tickets to appear like he's "awake" then he will have to write a lot of tickets in that final week. It has nothing to do with quota's or promotions.

Posted: Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Article comment by: law enforcement supporter

I am appalled at the ignorance of so many people. As a family member of a local law enforcement officer, I assure you there are NO quotas and promotion is NOT based upon arrests. These individuals strap on a gun and a badge every day to serve and protect YOU! The starting officer salary in Chino Valley puts a family of four below the poverty level. Money is clearly not the motivation for entering the profession. How dare many of you make such selfish accusations against the men and women who selflessly put their lives in danger every day for mediocre wages.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: mike

Hey Kim...shooting five shots directly over oneself (and sticking around to find out what happens) is not too bright...sorry for your loss, but he sounds like a Darwin award finalist...

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: Man Up and stop sniveling

Break the law and speed , get punished, pay the fine & don't do the whine. You folks over in Chino ought to see what kinda deal Harvey in P.V. has cooked up with Redflex.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: Hilde

They most likely have a quota system...it makes bucks for the Cowboy Mafia.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: MIKE B.

HEY, THIS ARTICLE WAS NOT ABOUT WRITING CITATIONS. IT IS A HEADS UP FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT TRAVEL HWY 89 EVERY DAY THAT THE POLICE ARE OUT THERE AND PULLING CARS OVER.LAST WEEK I RAN MY OWN TEST. STARTING AT 2 NORTH SOUTH TO THE ROUND ABOUT AND BACK. DOING 45 IN THE RIGHT LANE JUST ABOUT EVERY CAR THAT CAME UP BEHIND ME PASSED AT LEAST 5 TO 10 MPH FASTER AND SOME MORE THAN THAT. SO I GUESS THE 45 MPH SIGN DOSEN'T WORK SO WHY WOULD A SIGN THAT SAID, SPEED ENFORCED BY RADAR WORK. THAT'S A NICER STRECH OF ROAD THAN OUR INTERSTATES. NATURALY YOU WANT TO GO FASTER.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: Retired Five-Oh

Instead of asking the cops to reduce enforcement, why don't you ask your neighbors to stop complaining? The cops' bosses don't stick them out there because they love to write tickets. They're there because of complaints. In other words, they're not out there to generate revenue, they're being responsive to what the citizens want.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: No name provided

E.J - All fines collected from citations issued under Title 28 of the Arizona Revised Statutes are forwarded to the State of Arizona. The money does not stay in the local jurisdictions. This is done to avoid just the type of conflict of interest as what you are erroneously reporting. Also, fines and court improvement fees are set by the Arizona Supreme Court, not the local jurisdictions as you purport. Perhaps you should research the laws of the State of Arizona and how our State and municipalities work before spouting off on things you obviously know nothing about. Mike – As for the “blitz” filling the town coffers… please read the above comment directed at E.J. As for warning signs, the Arizona Department of Transportation sets the speed limits on Highway 89 through Chino Valley. They have very clearly marked the area with both speed limit signs and warning signs when the speed limit is reduced to the 45 MPH entering the town limits. I’m not sure what more you require in a warning? A large flashing neon billboard? The simple solution is to obey the traffic laws and have your vehicle in the correct working order per state law (tail lamps, headlights, etc). Be careful what you complain about… Chino Valley could very easily go the way of Prescott Valley and use photo radar.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: No name provided

It's really obnoxious that people are so adverse to taking responsibility for their actions...i.e., it's the cops, they're out to get us or they just wait for us to get comfortable again, or they don't give us enough warning...never, you're right I was breaking the law, or that's right I was speeding so I deserve to get this ticket. Didn't your parents ever teach you anything decent? So go ahead, speed and put your life and the life of others in jeopardy but at least have a pair and own your actions! Oh and p.s. it's strict liability when it comes to traffic violations...that means you don't have to be aware that you're breaking a law, which means ignorance is not an excuse, so the fact that you KNOW you're in the wrong makes it even more compelling to write you a ticket!

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: John M

Yeah, the warning signs are a great system….that way everyone can slam on their brakes and actually go the speed limit for two blocks and the floorboard it again and go right back to speeding. It’s a simple process, if you don’t want a ticket, don’t speed! And I really don’t want to see my family or someone else’s family killed because you couldn’t manage to leave for your destination two minutes earlier.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: freedom writer

Cops' promotions are based on the number of arrests. Traffic stops are the safest, easiest way to make the maximum arrests; more bang for the buck, you might say. I call it the "easy pickins" method of law enforcement -- it's not about protecting or serving the public; it's about protecting and serving their own careers. They'll "ease up" only when those who pay their salaries stop buying into the myth that more enforcement equals more public safety.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: Crime rate? 0%? HA

Zero percent crime rate, huh? If all you do is read the Daily Courier that what you may be lead to believe...but coming from a criminal justice professional, you are very wrong. Even in your little town of Chino.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: Kim Storm

dlwchef -- A few years ago, one of my neighbors shot himself in the head after firing 5 shots into the air. It took the CV police almost 20 minutes to respond, 2 miles from the police department. I'd say the police already give robbers, and potential murderers, a head start.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: Amused

don't speed and you should not need the warnings...let all of the speeders wiz by you, homnk their horns and get their panties oin a bunch. I do and it amuses me...kinda makes my day that everyone is in such a hurry that if they get impeeded by a law abider they get their blood pressure up...just don't speed and you will not have anything to worry about

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: Retired AZ L.E.O.

There already are "warning signs", they call them speed limit signs. There are also signs saying that the speed limit is reduced on both sides of Chino Valley, so what more do you want ? As a retired L.E.O., I appreciate seeing the officers out working instead of the Big Brother approach of P.V. and the D.P.S. with their camera systems. The advantage to having an officer make the stop is that they often catch more than a speeder. Keep up the good work Chino Valley PD !

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: Dave

Yes, Mike it would.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: E.J.

Come on Mike......you should know the score by now. I believe that less and less people are speeding due to the economy (can't afford tickets) and because more and more the police are relying on photo enforcement. People know that the photo radar is out there. So what happens? Less people speed which means less people get speeding tickets which means the city makes less money. The city projects the money they will probably make with speeding tickets. It's worked into their future budgets. And to make matters worse.....the city itself is also highly affected by these tough economic times. Since the city is making less and less on speeding tickets the police are really going to slam it to those they do catch speeding. The costs per speeding ticket are exorbitant these days. Way over the top. The less speeders they catch the more you will see the cost of each speeding ticket go up. I know that here in Prescott Valley the speed limits are set so low that people will tend to speed. Except for maybe Hwy 69 and Glassford Hill Road all the other streets have a 25 mile an hour speed limit. The argument is that all the other streets are residential streets but when your speaking about through-fare streets streets like Robert Road and Navajo, the speed limit should be set at 35 or 40 miles an hour. These are streets equivalent to Bethany Home Road and Maryland Street in Phoenix where the speed limits are set at 40 miles an hour. What the cops tend to do is relax for a while.....let everybody get comfortable with speeding again. Then out of nowhere they bear down all over again. But.....at the end of the day.......it's each drivers responsibility not to speed. People should not speed....but when they do that's no justification for the city to take advantage of the situation. Getting hit with about $12.00 per mile over the speed limit is extreme.

Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009
Article comment by: dlwchef

Give the violators a chance to slow down? Maybe, when someone gets robbed the police can wait a few hours before responding so that the thieves can get a head start. Same thing. Laws are in place for a reason.