Neal Boortz points to an article that leaves the impression that policemen might have a vested interest in writing more tickets. They don't spell it out exactly, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes that overtime hours attending trials of those contesting traffic tickets can be pretty lucrative for some officers.

[Officer] Simone earned $39,872 in court overtime last year, the most in the department, and has earned about $130,000 in total overtime since 2000.

Patrolman James Dunn is not far behind. He wrote 2,245 tickets in 2002, second-highest in the department, and earned a little more than $38,000 in court overtime.

The Plain Dealer never contends that overtime pay may motivate officers to write more tickets, but they do point out that ticket writing has been lucrative for both officers and the City of Cleveland.

Last year, Cleveland police wrote 120,000 traffic tickets. And law-enforcement goals aside, the city reaps clear benefits from the volume. It received $10.8 million last year from court fines, most from traffic citations.

But the strategy has boosted police overtime costs as well. And some officers say that problem is aggravated by long-standing practices that encourage people to challenge their traffic tickets in court.

Well, it is certainly nice to know that not all officers are thrilled about the overtime. Apparently "some officers" feel that a person having their day in court is an aggravation.