GUEST COMMENTARY: Money shouldn't tip the scales of justice

The stained glass piece shown here was a gift, one with a barb. It's a not-so-subtle nod to the not-quite-untrue adage that when it comes to the law, you get all the justice that money can buy.

But the piece is two decades old and needs an update. The dollar sign needs to be bigger, heftier — not to symbolize greater corruption but to recognize the growing mercantile nature of decisions made and actions taken in the name of the law.

Cash-strapped, tax-capped governments increasingly see raising revenue as the raison d'etre for law enforcement. And if the push toward "policing for profit" gains currency, so to speak, then a good set of scales is needed to weigh the take.

As with most trends, and all the bad ones, look first to California. One official there identified parking tickets as a vehicle for "extracting money from the public." Extracting? Sounds more like strip mining.

A writer in the Golden State likened the behavior of local gendarmes to "South American law enforcement" who target "the minor, income-producing infractions of the generally law-abiding" to generate "fees and fines that feed their salaries." Meanwhile, red-light cameras in Denver are now used to cite drivers whose tires touch or cross the white line at the intersection, even though the car stops for the light.

Closer to home, a recent Times article indicated the Lake County sheriff will be hooking more cars, taking "a more proactive approach to this aspect of traffic enforcement." Why? Revenue for salaries through a county-endorsed, fivefold increase in towing fees. Also noted was the county's ongoing effort to reduce the jail population, the rationale for which is, again, financial.

Grabbing cars brings in money, grabbing people costs money, and that means you'll be seeing more of the former and less of the latter.

Of course, officials must keep an eye on expenses and revenue. Of course traffic safety is important. But the prime directive for law enforcement cannot be fundraising, which it will be if the financial consultants, the people wearing green eyeshades and arm garters, hold sway.

Shine a spotlight on one facet of law enforcement, and you inevitably send others into the shadows. Focus on the moneymakers, and something more important gets ignored.

One hopes public officials maintain a sense of elemental priorities. But more and more, it's all about the money.

Thomas Vanes recently retired as Lowell Town Court judge. The opinions are the writer's.