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Lakeland Police Have Monthly DUI Arrest Expectations

Posted Nov 20, 2007 by Billy Townsend

Updated Nov 20, 2007 at 08:36 AM

I learned something new this week, and it might be worth remembering as we approach the holiday drinking, er, social season.

Officers serving on the Lakeland Police Department’s DUI unit are expected to make at least 10 DUI arrests per month. It’s a formal performance standard, LPD spokesman Jack Gillen confirmed Monday. Gillen was quick to add that the standard is not a quota.

What’s the difference between a performance standard and a quota?

According to Gillen, a quota would mean officers must make at least 10 arrests, period. Under a performance standard, if an officer fails to make 10 arrests, a supervisor can review all of the circumstances to determine whether discipline is needed.

Gillen said DUI supervisors came up with 10 arrests per month after studying arrest statistics. Gillen said it’s a reasonable number and might even be low.

Individual deputies with the Polk sheriff’s office’s traffic unit average more than 100 DUI arrests per year, according to agency spokeswoman Donna Wood. But there are no arrest-based numerical performance standards or quotas, she said.