DATE: Tuesday, September 16, 1997           TAG: 9709150076

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Public Safety 

SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER AND NAOMI AOKI, STAFF WRITERS 

                                            LENGTH:  101 lines

TROOPERS VARY WIDELY IN TICKET-WRITING HABITS IT CROSSES EVERY DRIVER'S MIND WHEN HE OR SHE BREAKS THE RULES OF THE ROAD: WILL I GET A TICKET?

Interstate travelers who violate traffic laws in Gloucester are more likely to get a break from state police than they are in any other jurisdiction in the region.

Nearly 17 percent of lawbreakers stopped by Gloucester troopers get away with just a warning, according to a Virginian-Pilot analysis of state police ticketing patterns. That analysis covered a 16-month period, ending Nov. 30, 1996.

The Hampton Roads average is 6 percent.

It's a fact of life for most motorists, especially those with a tendency to bend the roadway rules, that they will eventually catch the attention of a state trooper. And when that happens, the law gives the officers three options:

Issue a warning.

Issue a ticket.

Arrest the driver.

Most motorists obviously prefer the first option, but a study of state police ticketing patterns show that troopers seldom give breaks. The analysis also shows that troopers in some jurisdictions are friendlier than in others.

Troopers in two areas, Gloucester and Williamsburg, gave warnings more than 10 percent of the time. But troopers assigned to the Newport News area gave breaks to just one motorist per 100.

That doesn't mean it's risk-free to gas it through Gloucester and drive 45 in Newport News. The study showed a wide spread among individual troopers in those areas, too.

Fifty-seven of the 196 troopers examined in the 16-month ticket analysis never gave warnings. But 34 troopers gave one warning for every 10 violations.

The ticket review by The Virginian-Pilot compared the ratio of warnings to summonses for all Hampton Roads-based troopers - patrolling from Williamsburg to Emporia - who had stopped more than 100 cars in a 16-month period.

Lt. R.N. Farr, based in Chesapeake, said it is difficult to compare jurisdictions, situations or troopers because ``that can be like comparing apples and oranges.''

Troopers statewide use the same philosophy, he said. That philosophy: ``If a violation comes to your attention, you take the appropriate action.''

But, clearly, that philosophy leaves room for wide interpretation, and data show a significant variance in the actions troopers take at traffic stops.

The state police's most prolific ticket-writer - Chesapeake's Karl E. Campbell - penned 2,988 summonses during the 16-month period without giving a warning, the study showed.

Gloucester's Everett S. Gentry, however, wrote 481 tickets and gave 425 breaks. That means nearly half of the offenses Gentry noticed were handled with only a warning. That made Gentry the most generous area trooper.

Virginia's most benevolent trooper is Walter W. Viohl Jr., based in Salem. Viohl gave friendly warnings more than 95 percent of the time, writing only six tickets in 16 months while giving 136 warnings, records show.

Still, Farr said, state troopers use the same criteria when dealing with lawbreaking motorists.

``A situation in Gloucester might be totally different from a situation (in Newport News),'' Farr said. ``Each situation is different. There are mitigating factors in each stop. Each stop is different and you have to go by that. You don't dictate to the individual (trooper) that he has to issue a summons.''

Contrary to popular perception, law-enforcement officers in most metropolitan jurisdictions such as Hampton Roads don't have a ticket quota. Rather, each officer is guided by his judgment.

At the Virginia Beach Police Academy, prospective police officers are taught that giving a warning is often more effective than giving a ticket, from both a law-enforcement and a public-relations standpoint.

``I used to give a ticket to everyone I stopped,'' a Virginia Beach instructor lectured during classes on traffic enforcement. ``Then I grew older and wiser.''

Veteran police officers say those who monitor motorists essentially come in three types:

Type 1 doesn't decide whether to give a ticket until after talking to the motorist. He considers the offense and the driver's attitude before deciding what to do.

Type 2 believes that if he has to get out of his car, he's writing a ticket.

Type 3 only stops the most brazen violators and gives nearly all of them tickets because they deserve them anyway.

But once a motorist is handed a ticket, it's a near certainty he'll pay for it. Troopers maintain a 95 percent conviction rate, according to the state police.

Troopers say the high conviction rate results from solid case preparation and a professional demeanor when testifying in court. They also say they know the fine points of Virginia motor-vehicle laws, which help them better detect lawbreakers and issue the appropriate summonses. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by Beth Bergman/The Virginian-Pilot

Officer Karl Campbell addresses a motorists on the side of the

highway.

Graphic

The friendly and not-so-friendly state police areas

Total number of summons issued...

Total number of warnings...

For complete copy, see microfilm KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA STATE TROOPER TICKET SUMMONS

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