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Council member presses police chief on traffic-stop citation rates after 4,035 calls for service
Summary
At the April 9 Clute City Council meeting, a council member questioned why only about 12% of traffic stops resulted in written citations despite 4,035 calls for service in February; the police chief said officers exercise discretion and noted quotas are illegal.
A council member at the Clute City Council's April 9 meeting questioned the police department's February activity after noting 4,035 calls for service for the month.
"The calls for service, I see it as 4,035," the council member said, and asked why the listed 911/EMS/fire and other categories did not sum to that total. The council member also pressed on traffic-stop outcomes, saying of 896 traffic stops in the report, roughly 61% received written warnings while only about 12% resulted in written citations.
"It's not just 911 calls," the police chief replied. "It's every single... people that walk into the lobby, people that flag you down."
The chief said officers use discretion in deciding whether to issue a citation, and pointed to common citation drivers such as no insurance or no driver's license. He emphasized that quotas are illegal and that enforcement is aimed at changing unsafe behavior rather than generating revenue: "We look at our accidents ... in February, we only had 15." The chief added that neighboring cities showed different traffic-enforcement patterns and that staffing and unit assignment can affect citation counts.
The exchange highlighted council interest in more granular breakdowns; the chief said the department could provide specific citation categories on request. The council did not take formal action on the report during the meeting.
