The Island County Sheriff’s Office is reminding deputies they need to make at least two stops per shift so the department can justify getting money for the sheriff’s shrinking budget from the county road levy.

Department officials stress that the policy is not a quota, which is a very charged word in law enforcement circles. “Quotas” normally refers to the practice of requiring officers to issue a certain number of tickets, a practice that’s generally very unpopular with the public.

The Island County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t require deputies to write a specific number of tickets, but the administration does require — or at least strongly recommend — that they make at least two traffic stops a shift.

“It’s really a small number to ask for,” Island County Sheriff Mark Brown said. “I see that many violations on my way to work.”

In fact, statistics from the sheriff’s office show that thousands of people are being stopped every year but are driving away without a citation. Last year, for example, police made 14,410 traffic stops but handed out just 2,193 tickets. Less than 20 percent of the people pulled over in the last three years by deputies have gotten a ticket.

It’s about the same rate of citations issued per stop as the Oak Harbor police. The police conducted 7,892 stops and issued 1,541 infraction tickets in 2008.

Brown, a former state trooper, said money is not the motivation behind the policy on traffic stops. His ultimate goal is to make the roads safer. He’s very openly emphasized traffic enforcement in his troops and started a two-person traffic enforcement team, which will likely end next year because of budget cuts. He doesn’t urge deputies to give tickets, he said, because sometimes a verbal warning is just as effective.

“Sheriffs don’t win election by giving out tickets,” he joked.

Yet the connection between money and traffic enforcement is definitely on the mind of county law enforcement officers. Undersheriff Kelly Mauck recently reminded deputies about it in an email message urging them to “please do your part to make legitimate traffic stops during your available proactive patrol time.”

Mauck’s plea was made within the context of budget cuts. He reassured the deputies that the sheriff told the commissioners that law-and-justice departments cannot tolerate any more reductions.

“How can patrol deputies help? We receive a transfer from the road department of $516,000 each year for traffic related expenses. One key ingredient in the formula we use to justify these expenses is the number of traffic stops we make. This is why we require 2 traffic stops per shift on average per deputy,” Mauck wrote.

Mauck goes on to explain that the number of traffic stops has dropped this year, which could affect the sheriff’s budget. The sheriff’s office is budgeted to receive about $600,000 from the county road levy next year. Most of the overall county road levy goes to public works, but the sheriff’s office gets a portion for road safety.

In an interview, Mauck explained that the transfer of money to the sheriff’s office is statistically justified based on a formula that takes into account several factors. The monetary worth of traffic stops is calculated using the average hourly salary of a deputy and the number of traffic stops; each stop is estimated to take an average of 15 minutes of a deputy’s time.

The loose policy of requiring deputies to make two traffic stops a shift didn’t start with Brown. Mauck said he was working as a deputy when former Sheriff Mike Hawley started the policy. Mauck said all the deputies at the time agreed it was “no problem.” Brown saw no reason to change the policy after he was elected.

Mauck said “requirement” may be too strong a word. Deputies who don’t make the “strongly recommended” two stops aren’t penalized, warned or anything.

“It’s a requirement with no teeth,” he said.

Moreover, Mauck stressed that the sheriff’s office doesn’t look at the revenue that is made from traffic tickets, which are collected through district court.

“We don’t support quotas because they don’t leave any room for discretion. They take all the thoughtfulness and reasonableness out of enforcement,” Mauck said. “Our policy is not a quota in any shape or form.”

More traffic stops roughly equates to more tickets overall, though the ratio of tickets per stop decreases as the number of stops increases.

According to statistics from the Sheriff’s Office, deputies made 8,018 traffic stops in 2006 and issued 1,650 tickets. In 2007, deputies made 14,480 traffic stops and gave out 2,383 tickets. In 2008, deputies made 14,410 traffic stops and issued 2,193 tickets.

This year, Mauck estimates that deputies will make only about 12,000 traffic stops. The decrease worries the sheriff’s administration since it could affect the fragile budget. The office may lose two patrol deputies next year in budget cuts, which could compound the problem.