Are you 100% sure this was being conducted by Maricopa PD?

There is not a single road within Maricopa jurisdiction that has a speed limit of 65mph.

I am assuming you didn't really know who the department was because in both posts, you never once mentioned who the department was. I would think for a claim such as this one you would be a little more specific.

no I think the point of the post was to bash Maricopa PD.  They get such a bad rap for doing their job.  Poor guys.  And then on top of that they have to take the heat for DPS or Gila River.  I think maricoa PD should declare war on DPS.  Who would win?  We have Dodge Chargers.  Of course DPS has helicopters and could probably buy weapons of mass destruction from Osama.  Game Over!!!

Sorry for my sarcasm.  It's pooring out of me today. 

sdougherty-

The only reason I bothered to respond to your post in the first place is because of what you said. Look at your original post. It clearly states, "It's hard for me to believe that Maricopa could be hurting so bad financially that tickets are being issued for anything and everything. (Some are more than valid, I admit)."

That one word is the reason for my response.

I have to agree with chevyguy...IMHO I think your original intention of posting was not to "warn" Maricopa residents. You came on here to bash the MPD. In no way, what-so-ever, do you say in your original post something along the lines of "Warning to all Maricopa residents..."

Not to mention, the Topic TITLE is "HWY Conspiracy". Way to look out for your fellow Maricopians...by bashing MPD! Thanks a ton! Doesn't sound like a warning to me.

Oh and just so you know...DPS has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the city of Maricopa or the Maricopa Police Department when issuing their own tickets on their own turf.

YO!  sdougherty!  Don't you get it???  Your opinion of the MPD Cannot be aired on this forum!!!  GoinCrazy will bash you everytime!  Take it from this uneducated,  old fashioned, etc......  old woman!  Hug a Cop today!  Don't be disrespectful, it is not becoming of you!

I have no beef with the Copa cops, but I don't think they are working very hard.  I see people speeding and running red lights all the time, me included.  They should crack down more and then people would slow down and actually stop at red lights.

Your kidding right?  Your sole justification for why you don't believe MPD are working hard is because you see people speeding and running red lights all the time?  Do you ever see them speeding past a police officer?  I mean really, take account of what you are saying.  I see fires breaking out all the time so clearly the firefighters aren't working very hard.  I see power outages so that means that the electric companies aren't working very hard (ok so that one might not be far from the truth) my cell phone drops calls more than I'd like so Verizon employees must not be working very hard....you get the point.  Sure there is a lot of disregard for the law, but that doesn't mean that those enforcing it are not working hard.  Consider this:  the MPD are working very hard, yet still you see all of these unlawful acts.. imagine the crime if they stopped working so hard.

I have no problem with their response time but I never see any MPD simply paroling the nieghborhood to "prevent" crimes. I do see lots of police cars on 347 (JWP).

Last week was over 90 speeding tickets and last month was 22.  Sounds like they are working harder this month.

RichTig,  You are right! Granny here gets the "point you are driving home", however, I do have to say, the MPD needs to focus on Red Light Runners more than they are.  Let's get off this speeding kick

It has been proven time and time again, that if a City Official, or a member of their "Family" gets seriously hurt by a red light runner, citations will go up drastically.  When I lived in Phoenix, some 26 years ago, we fought and fought to get a crosswalk painted on a school route and we were shot down meeting after meeting. Unfortunately, a city officials child was struck and killed while crossing 12th street, and then we got a crosswalk.  I truly hate to see this become a part of Maricopa's recipe.  We need to be pro-active, and when anyone sees a potential problem, we need to address it right away.  Red light runners are a HUGE PROBLEM!!!!  Please, if there are any MPD employees on this website, take this issue seriously.  We need to enforce our intersections!  Enough ranting from Granny! 

I agree 100 percent that red light runners are a problem and they pose a huge risk to the rest of the people on the road that choose to slow down and enjoy life. If I were to get hit by a red light runner and survive, don't think for one second I wouldn't pursue a lawsuit and take that person for all they are worth.

However...the part that I don't understand is all the complaining. Granny, I am not in law enforcement. I know who is though, and I know they take law breakers very seriously. They hear your complaints loud and clear. BUT, an officer, two officers, the entire police force could sit at every lighted intersection all day long and chances are they may get a red light runner. More times than not, they won't. Why? People tend to pay more attention to an intersection and the changing of the lights when there are officers sitting at the intersection.

The red light violations they handed out, just happened to be that one (or two) person/people not paying attention that day. You can write down their license plate number and call it in. That is a great way to help out. But, I believe, an officer has to witness the violation with his/her own eyes in order to cite the violator. Even when you call in a suspected DUI. If you see it and report the license plate, the officer still has to see it for himself/herself in order to justify a citation.

Jason, you claim you have seen people run red lights in front of officers and the officer does nothing about it. That is really too bad. You should contact the department and see if they can give you a copy of their policy for responding to calls. Just because that officer is sitting at the light, doesn't mean he isn't involved in something else. Officers of this city are not allowed to respond with lights and sirens to any calls, UNLESS there is imminent danger. Maybe the officer is going to a domestic. A call for domestic NOT IN PROGRESS still has priority, but not lights/siren priority. Officers are human beings as well...maybe he was writing down his next address to respond to and missed the car running the red light. That is not an excuse but it happens. Everyone has been honked at at a light before because we get lost in something we are looking at. Officers aren't any different.

I guess all in all what I am saying is we should be thankful for the red light runner tickets they are writing because at least we know they are doing SOMETHING about it. Our department isn't a lost cause like some may think...they are doing their job to the best of their ability. I think they are putting in a great effort.

I don't buy that argument, not for one second. Take a look at the numbers of speeding tickets that they hand out, it's not just one or two a day, is it? People have become very complacent about running red lights and posting a motorcycle officer at the intersections where it is the worst (RED/CF, CF, Smith-Enke and Fry's) would undoubtedly net a lot of tickets. If your argument were true, then red light cameras would not be so successful. Neither would those speed vans on 347.

Furthermore, I've seen it in action on Pecos Rd. It works. People don't get out of their comfort zone until they see those lights and people getting handed real tickets. Red light cameras just aren't the same.