Question about daily trooper activities.

[scweeber1]

Since I'm aspiring to be a trooper I was wondering about the daily routine of the job. When do they decide to sit and watch for speeders and when do they decide to patrol the highway (this is when there are no emergency calls or anything like that). Are these things up to the trooper's discretion or is he or she constantly following the command of their supervisor as to where they should be? What other major duties do they perform on a daily basis?

[Birky]

Well they pretty much do what they want when they want. I have never seen a trooper being told to go patrol verus sitting and running radar. The only thing I have heard of is they are told to keep their stats up by the command.

[scweeber1]

What do you mean by stats?

Also, do they have a certain quota of speeding and traffic tickets that they are required to hand out?

[Birky]

I mean stats. You get stats by all the work that you do if you go out and write 5 tickets a day and work 3 wrecks those would be your stats. At the end of the month you total it and then the department has something to look at to see if you are performing at a consistent level. No quotas are a different thing that is when the department says you will go out and write 5 tickets a day and work 3 wrecks and you as an officer have no choice or be written up for not doing what you are told to do. I don't know of any department that tells you that you will go and write x number of tickets.

[scweeber1]

Both of your replies were very helpful.

[lightemup]

Birky,
I don't know a lot about certain departments but in the Michigan State Police their routine patrol varies on what they do. Certain posts throughout the state they do certain things in which other posts are focused on one particular thing. For example the post I interned for they had 18 miles on freeway running through the county they are assigned too. Now that county is particulary back country roads including the freeway which is on the edge of the county. Some troopers would want to go and and shoot laser or radar on the freeway where their fellow troopers would be out patrolling the back roads doing other stuff. So in that county their work load varies each day. Also they handle a pretty big complaint load so they will have to answer to domestic calls, etc.
Now if you were a trooper in the Detroit Metro area which makes up of all freeways you would be considered to be working in a freeway post. That right there would tell you that you are a freeway trooper and that is it. Those guys go out there for the eight hours and catch the speeders with the laser and radar and nothing else, like complaint calls and so on. So they are actually expected to be out there for their shift other than when it is time to eat then they are allowed to be off the freeway for their meal. So in the state of MI the State Police varies on what they do, it all depends on what area you are in. Hope that helps.
NATE :p