Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Police Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neptune Beach police chief: September saw 182 citations, 157 warnings; Beaches Chapel hires officer for secondary employment
Summary
The police chief (Bill) told the council the department wrote 182 traffic citations and 157 warnings in September, said the city nets about $10 per uniform citation, and confirmed Beaches Chapel pays for a secondary-employed officer who appears in uniform and may use a patrol car when necessary.
Neptune Beach's police chief asked to put clarifying information on the record about inter-city coordination, citation counts and secondary employment after public questions during the meeting.
The chief said he speaks regularly with neighboring chiefs and that the department's focus is Neptune Beach. For September he reported 182 uniform traffic citations and 157 traffic warnings. "Very, very fair equal balance of giving warnings and giving citations out," he said, noting the department emphasizes education as well as enforcement.
The chief also explained the city's financial relationship to citations: net revenue to the city from a uniform traffic citation, on average, is only about $10 regardless of the ticket amount. He emphasized the department does not act as a revenue-collection operation.
Regarding a question about the officer at Beaches Chapel, the chief said private entities like Beaches Chapel can hire officers for secondary employment. "Beaches Chapel hires our officer to work there, weekly," the chief said, and council follow-up confirmed that the officer is required to be in uniform and may use a city-issued vehicle in the course of duties, including arrests.
A councilor asked whether officers are permitted or required to use city vehicles while performing secondary employment; the chief replied that officers are mandated to appear in uniform and may use patrol cars if needed.
What happens next: staff agreed to upload citation and camera data to the city's website under the school-speed-camera menu and to continue providing periodic updates to the public.
