Police agencies that prioritize fines are less effective

After the events in Ferguson, Missouri, the Justice Department began looking into the practices of the Ferguson Police Department. The results on their investigation should that the police routinely violated the rights of minorities.

In a follow-up to that investigation, the Washington Post looked at data to determine how municipalities which prioritized fee and fine collections ranked with departments where those things were not prioritized.

The results were not surprising. Departments where a greater share of revenue came from fees, fines, and civilly forfeited assets closed much fewer violation crimes and property crimes. 

There are many ways that police can generate revenue, but it seems like something that should not be a main priority. It mis-aligns the police agenda with that of the population that they are there to serve. It takes attention away from actual crime and turns the police into a collection agency. The police should be funded through taxation and not have their interests aligned against the interests of the citizenry.