COP TIX QUOTA BARED

By LARRY CELONA and LUKAS I. ALPERT

June 20, 2005 -- Three NYPD sergeants have confirmed what police brass have denied for years: Ticketing quotas exist.

Testifying at a closed-door union-grievance hearing last week, the sergeants said cops in the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn were given a minimum amount of summonses to write in each three-month quarter — or they would get in trouble with their bosses.

One sergeant even submitted a handwritten note from the East New York precinct's commanding officer that spelled out the number of collars, moving violations and quality-of-life summonses that a cop needed to write to avoid being given a poor performance assessment, sources told The Post.

The missive, obtained by The Post, states that an officer with fewer than 35 parking summonses in a quarter would receive a below-average performance rating.

Officers were also told to make 11 collars and issue 33 moving-violation and 33 quality-of-life summonses.

The precinct's commanding officer, Deputy Chief Michael Marino, admitted at last week's hearing before a city arbitrator that he wrote the note but said it was only one of several types of criteria that he used to assess his officers, the sources said.

The hearing last week before the city's Office of Collective Bargaining involved six cops who were transferred from the precinct allegedly because they didn't come up with enough summonses and arrests.

Union officials say the sergeants' testimony about a ticketing quota at the precinct lays bare the department's dirty little secret: that cops are forced to write ridiculous tickets to raise more revenue for the city or face the consequences.

"The evidence presented under oath in this arbitration proves once again what police officers have long lived with: There are established quotas, and if you don't meet them, you will be punished," said Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch.

Forcing cops to issue a certain number of tickets and make a certain number of arrests sends the wrong message, the union argues.

"Quotas damage the trust between the police and the public," said PBA board member John Giangrasso. "Conditions can be addressed without putting a financial burden on the community."

But the department counters that the number of arrests and summonses is just one way of monitoring an officer's productivity and does not amount to a quota.

"Police officers have a certain degree of discretion in taking enforcement actions," an NYPD spokesman said. "Performance must be taken into account in evaluating them, otherwise conscientious officer would carry the burden alone."