I’m a big fan of “you get what you pay for.”

It doesn’t seem to really work with retail employees, but production based bonuses greatly increased my productivity at the plant.

What if ADAs/LEOs got bonuses for successful convictions of violent criminals?

No, they are not real estate agents.

it would suck.

Would that be like the prosecutor down in Columbia S.C. a couple years ago who got Jason Dickie convicted of manslaughter and it took 4 years for our state Supreme Court to overturn the conviction and in their 4 to 1 decision say that not only should the prosecutor have not brought it to trial but the judge should have thrown it out the first day?

No thanks. Arrest and charge everybody for everything and plea bargain down CONVICTIONS to hit the bonus pool. See any problem? There’s enough bullshit as it is without the representatives of the people making decisions based on bonuses instead of justice. How about paying jurors a meaningful amount of money for their time so more thoughtful and engaged people are willing to serve instead of doing everything they can to get dismissed?

Without a doubt the worst idea about the criminal justice system I have ever heard/seen suggested.

The system produces far too many unjust results as it is without offering monetary incentives to police and prosecutors who can already find plenty of other reasons for their misconduct.

If the culture/society demands legitimate prosecutions and convictions of criminals, that’s what any conscientious LEO or prosecutor will work for to the extent of their abilities. The problem is, of course, that that demand is far too often lacking for any of many reasons due to cultural rot.

Terrible idea. Here's a wacky thought out of left field, let cops do their jobs and typically they'll be happy to just go do them. If a cop feels like they need an extra monetary incentive to go do it, they should go find another job. I'm not saying work for free mind you as no one does but this would not lead down a good road.

I know of a few agencies that pay their officers/deputies for each arrest warrant they serve.

Horrible idea. I remember when we were first granted the right of overtime. If you made an arrest on midnites or afternoons you had to go to court the following morning for a bond hearing. So that meant overtime. Guys who had not made an arrest in years and had no intention of ever doing so, suddenly became super cops. No arrest was too small. Because it guaranteed overtime. Even wagon guys were making arrests. This idea would have the same effect.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
What if ADAs/LEOs got bonuses for successful convictions of violent criminals?

This would be a very dangerous road to go down. This is how corruption, false arrests, and wrongful convictions happens.

I once went to an agency where I was in-charge of over 100 investigators for public assistance fraud and they had to meet a quota on fraud cases. They had to get a certain number of confirmed cases each month, or their job was at risk. That was the first thing I ended was that quota. I changed things to evaluate the quality of their cases and enacted mandatory supervisor review of cases.

I was assigned to a fed task force for several years. I could not wrap my head around how some of the big bosses got bonuses for certain cases worked. Not a good path…

Money is only a part of the problem in policing.

Monetary incentives to have law enforcement figure a few more creative ways to get bullshit convictions? “It probably won’t stick but what the hell, I’ll give it a try anyway”!
No thanks.

I'd rather see the opposite where gov't. officials feel it personally in the wallet for bringing BS charges and not being able to win a conviction. Why should defendants be bankrupted by the system, when the gov't. feels no pain?

One only has to look at the egregious abuses of the Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws, which don't even directly benefit those with the power that are doing the abusing, to know that this would be a REALLY BAD Idea!

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Asset Forfeiture Scheme Where Police Seize and Keep Cars, Cash & Homes of Innocent Owners

NO, Bad idea. All else aside, the public does not look well on things like that. Quotas might be another example of a policy that doesn't sit well with the public.

I spent most of my adult working life in police work. I was never comfortable with civil asset seizures, with no charges or convictions. IMHO, some officers viewed civil forfeitures as a fun contest to see who could get the most.. YMMV

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee:
I'd rather see the opposite where gov't. officials feel it personally in the wallet for bringing BS charges and not being able to win a conviction. Why should defendants be bankrupted by the system, when the gov't. feels no pain?

I totally get what you are saying and this should absolutely happen if a person is arrested and charged on BS charges. That is for a civil suit to figure out.

However, for an officer or detective, it is out of their hands after they hand the case off to the prosecuting attorney. The officer or detective determines if they have the probable cause and then it is up to the prosecutor to determine if they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt in court. I have seen great cases with great evidence lost due to a terrible prosecutor who couldn’t argue the evidence in court, or a good defense attorney who planted doubt in the jury’s mind. That part of the system is not on the Officer or detective.

Another thing to consider about this bad idea would be prosecutors only prosecuting cases they know they could win. No win, no bonus, why bother?

As a retired cop-bad idea. Base salary & OT should be the only way they make money.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
As a retired cop-bad idea. Base salary & OT should be the only way they make money.

I agree completely.

There should not be financial incentives for "more" policing (or prosecuting). There should not be financial penalties for "less" or for "losing."

The potential for abuse is far too high.

I have been a proactive cop for 20 years.