NY - Bad tix will cost cops

CHECK TWICE: Cops had better be as careful as this officer is when they write tickets, or they'll lose vacation days if the violations are tossed.


















Days docked for tossed violations

Still reeling from the widespread ticket-fixing scandal, the NYPD has laid out a harsh punishment plan for cops whose moving violations get tossed in court because of faulty paperwork.

The penalties will range from loss of two to five vacation days for a first offense to eight days for the third strike -- and cops will face departmental charges for any further offenses, according to a memo obtained by The Post.

"They're killing us with this bull-

s- - t," said a furious Queens cop after discovering the memo in traffic court.

"If it comes down to me losing vacation days or the city losing revenue, who do you think is going to lose? The city's going to lose."

In most cases, the punishment for first offenses will be three lost vacation days.

But the penalty could slide to the higher end of the range depending on the officer's disciplinary record and how many tickets the cop writes, police sources said.

Cops who write a lot of tickets will be viewed more favorably under the new system, the sources said.

Each offense will be based on lost cases, regardless of how many summonses an individual motorist has received.

As a result of the new policy, angry cops also being selective about the kind of tickets they write.

"We're now writing parking violations instead of moving violations so we don't have to go to court and face a judge and maybe lose days," the Queens cop said.

The NYPD instated the tougher penalties in response to an embarrassing ticket-fixing scandal, which could see hundreds of cops disciplined and dozens slapped with criminal charges.

The investigation and tougher penalties have led jittery cops to write thousands fewer tickets -- costing the city nearly a half-million dollars last week.

For the week of Aug. 1 through Aug. 7, the number of tickets issued for parking and moving violations dropped by 6,976 compared with the same period last year.

While parking violations cost drivers as little as $35, the minimum moving violation brings the city a hefty $90. There were 3,450 fewer parking violations and 3,526 fewer moving violations for that week, a loss to the city of at least $438,090.