Arlington police are scrambling to quash reports that their officers must meet monthly arrest quotas after an internal memo suggesting exactly that was made public earlier this week.
Police Chief Doug Scott said at a news conference Tuesday that he’d retracted the memo, which was sent to the department’s patrol division and outlined “monthly proactivity expectations” for officers. The memo said day shift officers were expected to make three arrests and issue 28 traffic summons every month. Officers on the evening shift were expected to make seven arrests and issue 30 traffic summons a month.
The leaked memo stressed that Arlington police don’t operate on a quota system, but said that officers “consistently failing to attain these goals” could be disciplined.
| ‘Expectations’ for Arlington police |
| Day shifts |
| Arrests: 3 |
| Traffic summons: 28 (maximum 25 percent warnings) |
| Parking citations: 15 |
| Evening shifts |
| Arrests: 7 |
| Traffic summons: 30 (maximum 25 percent warnings) |
| Parking citations: 5 |
| Midnight shifts |
| Arrests: 7 |
| DUI: 1 |
| Traffic summons: 16 (maximum 25 percent warnings) |
| Parking citations: 5 |
| Source: “Proactivity expectations 2012” memorandum, Arlington County Police Department |
Scott insisted Tuesday that the department has no arrest quotas, and called the memo a “mistake.” The police chief said he hadn’t seen the document until Monday, nearly three weeks after it was released to the patrol division.
The memo, first leaked Monday to WUSA, grew out of conversations between patrol officers and their supervisors about officers’ productivity, he said.
“[The officers responsible for the memo] are embarrassed by the fact that this story has gone viral,” he said. “Quotas are not tolerated or expected.”
Scott said he believed “99 percent” of Arlington’s officers understood that they didn’t have to meet quotas, but he worried that the memo may have confused some and alarmed the public. He said he was unaware of any officers who faced formal disciplinary action for failing to make a certain number of arrests.
“It’s reasonable for an officer to say, ‘What do you expect of me?’ ” he said. “But when you put a number on it, you create unreasonable expectations.”
Police quotas are illegal in several states, including Maryland, but are allowed in Virginia.
Still, Scott said, even the perception that Arlington sets arrest quotas has damaged the department’s reputation. He’s released a new memo to all department personnel, rescinding the original directive and emphasizing that the department should focus on “quality over quantity” in enforcement.
Scott said the department will review other internal documents to make sure they do not make specific references to arrest quotas.
