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WEBVTT ALL ABIG MISUNDERSTANDING.REPORTER: MASSACHUSETTS STATEPOLICE KEEPING HEAVY FOOTEDDRIVERS IN CHECK ON ROADWAYSACROSS THE STATE.THEY WRITE TENS OF THOUSANDS OFCITATIONS EACH YEAR.BUT ACCORDING TO INTERNALDOCUMENTS OBTAINED BY 5INVESTIGATES, THE HIGHER UPS OFTHE STATE POLICE BELIEVE SOMETROOPERS JUST AREN'T MEASURINGUP.TROOP AND STATION COMMANDERMEMOS AND E-MAILS CALL FOR A NEWMINIMUM PERFORMANCE STANDARD.SAYING SOME TROOPERS ARE DOINGLESS WORK THAN ACCEPTABLE.COMMANDERS ASKING TROOPERS TOWRITE A MINIMUM OF 60 TRAFFICVIOLATIONS A MONTH.UNDERPERFORMERS WILL BEREPRIMANDED, AND HIGH ACHIEVERSREWARDED.ON MULTIPLE DOCUMENTS IT SAYSTHIS IS NOT A QUOTA.BUT THE HEAD OF THE TROOPERSUNION ISN'T BUYING IT.>> YOU CAN CALL IT QUOTA, YOUCAN CALL IT PERFORMANCE MEASURE,YOU CAN CALL IT MAY TRICK,WHATEVER YOU LIKE.SPELLING DOESN'T CHANGE THEINITIAL FEELING OF WHAT PEOPLETHINK.REPORTER: PERFORMANCE METRICSHAVE BEEN USED BY THE DEPARTMENTFOR YEARS BUT THEY'VE NEVER HADANY NUMBER ATTACHED.HERE'S THE CONCERN.>> THE PERCEPTION IS THAT WE'RENOT OUT HERE TO STICK TO ITPEOPLE FOR A SPECIFIC SET NUMBERTO QUALIFY OR QUANTIFY MYEXISTENCE AS A ROAD TOPPER, IDON'T THINK THAT'S THE CASE ATALL AND THAT'S WHAT WE'REWORRIED ABOUT.>> IT JUST MEANS THAT THEY'LL BESPENDING MORE TIME LOOKING TOFOR THINGS TO PULL PEOPLE OVERFOR.REPORTER: BUT IT SEEMED TOREVERSE COURSE WHEN WE BEGANASKING QUESTIONS.A SPOKESPERSON FOR THEDEPARTMENT SAYS THIS WAS ALL AMISCOMMUNICATION BY A TROOPCOMMANDER WHO MISINTERPRETED THELEVEL OF ACTIVITY DEMANDED BYTHE DEPARTMENT.HE SAYS THERE IS NO QUOTA FORTRAFFIC VIOLATIONS.>> I'M GLAD THAT THAT'S THEPOSITION THE DEPARTMENT ISTAKING.BUT I HAVE NOT BEEN MADE AWARETHAT THAT'S THE POSITION UNTILYOU JUST SEE THIS TO ME.WE DON'T BELIEVE IN THE CARROTAND THE STICK.REPORTER: THE DEPARTMENT SAYS AHIGH LEVEL OF POLICING ACTIVITYIS REQUIRED ON THE JOB, ANDTROOPERS ARE EVALUATED NOT ONLYON CITATIONS ISSUED BUT ALSOTHINGS LIKE ARRESTS, CRIMESINVESTIGATED OR PREVENTED,EMERGENCY RESPONSES, ANDASSISTING THE PUBLIC JUST TONAME A FEW.THEY SAY ANY SUGGESTION OF A SETNUMBER OF CITATIONS IS

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State police higher-ups' setting standards for troopers to write a certain number of tickets each month has set off a storm of protest and backpedaling at police headquarters following accusations from the trooper’s union that the new standards amounted to a ticket quota.The directive comes in memos obtained by 5 Investigates’ Kathy Curran that call for a new minimum performance standard and the suggestion that some troopers are doing less work than acceptable. In one email, a station commander asks troopers to write a minimum of 60 traffic violations a month. He said underperformers will be reprimanded and high achievers will be rewarded. Another commander also wrote about the 60-citation-a-month requirement. On multiple documents it says this is not a quota, but the head of the State Police Association of Massachusetts isn't buying it.“You can call it a quota, you can call it a performance measure, you can call it a performance matrix, you can call it whatever you like. Spelling doesn’t change the initial feeling of what people think,” Dana Pullman, association president, said. Performance metrics have been used by the department for several years but they've never had any number attached.Pullman said the concern is that troopers would be or would have the appearance of pulling people over to meet the performance metric instead of valid public safety reasons“I think the perception would be we’re not out here to stick it to you for a number, a specific set number to qualify or quantify my existence as a road trooper. I don’t think that’s the case at all and I think that’s what we’d be worried about,” he said.That same concern is echoed by some of the people behind the wheel."There shouldn't be something driving the ticket other than a bad driver,” said Lawrence Tobia, a passenger in a car stopped for gas at the Route 128 rest stop in Newton this week. “I think that tickets should be issued if a violation occurs regardless of whether there’s a quota or not. A violation is a violation.”“It just means they're going to be spending more time looking to pull people over,” said David Kiff, another motoristBut driver Kelley Demello said she was fine with the standards.“I think it’s fair,” she said, “I think we all know the rules when we get on the road and it’s up to us whether we obey them or not.”But the suggestion of anything appearing to be a quota seemed to reverse course when 5 Investigates began asking questions. A state police spokesperson said the memos and emails were all a miscommunication by a station commander who misinterpreted the level of activity demanded by the department. He says there is no quota for traffic violations and any suggestion of a set number of citations is incorrect.That was news to the state police union. ‘I’m glad that’s the position they’re taking but I haven’t been made aware of that until you just said this to me,” Pullman said. “We don’t believe in the carrot and the stick.”