Bipartisan bill would ban Ohio police from using arrest, ticket quotas
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Law enforcement agencies in Ohio would be banned from requiring officers to meet arrest and ticket quotas under a bipartisan Statehouse bill.
State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) reintroduced the legislation last week in the Ohio House as House Bill 131 alongside Rep. Kevin Miller (R-Newark), a former State Highway Patrol officer of 20 years. The bill, which defines a quota as a certain number of arrests made or citations issued for any offense that a police officer must meet in a time period, aims to enhance public safety.
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'Law enforcement officers' primary job is to protect and serve our community — they can't do that if they are expected to meet arbitrary quotas that don't reflect the safety needs of the community,' said Sweeney, who also introduced the measure last General Assembly. 'We want our law enforcement officers to be evaluated based upon the quality of their police work, not the quantity of tickets they can write.'
Similar legislation banning quotas has been enacted in 25 other states, including Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, the pair said. They also touted support from the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (OPBA) and the Fraternal Order of Police.
George Sakellakis, OPBA director of organization, argued that when agencies arbitrarily dictate a certain number of arrests or citations that an officer must issue to keep their job, the trust between the public and law enforcement, as well as the very nature of constitutional policing, is needlessly tested.
'Ohioans must be assured that any citation or arrest is valid, legitimate, and necessary. Police officers, sheriff's deputies and troopers are true professionals who risk their lives to serve our communities, not revenue generators,' said Sakellakis. 'They got into this business to protect our neighborhoods, not occupy them. We are thankful that the legislature is tackling this important issue.'
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State Senator Tom Patton (R-Strongsville) also supports the legislation, and has introduced a sister bill in the Ohio Senate, Senate Bill 114. The measure would also prohibit law enforcement from requiring officers to meet quotas, and ban agencies from offering a financial reward or other benefits for meeting quotas.
'Law enforcement officers already have the difficult task of keeping us all safe, and should not be saddled with the additional and unreasonable burden of generating revenue for the bureaucracies they serve,' said Patton. 'Quotas make officers' jobs even harder by undermining public trust in law enforcement. Filling quotas also encourage unnecessary encounters between the public and officers, further hindering our primary goal of maintaining public safety.'
H.B. 131 has been referred to the House Public Safety Committee for further consideration and awaits sponsor testimony. S.B. 114 has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee and is scheduled for sponsor testimony on Wednesday.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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