“We’re not here to embarrass anybody . . .”
Dennis Burton, Hale Center chief of police
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| Photo © by Jeff Dean |
Hale Center, Texas (population 2,158) is a small town with a big problem. No one’s taking them seriously. At least, that’s how the police department feels when it comes to traffic tickets. They’ve written more than 250 tickets that have gone unpaid, some since 2006. That adds up to almost $200,000—big bucks for a small town.
Well, the cops have had it. They’ve sent letters warning that traffic tickets are past due, they’ve sent letters saying an arrest warrant has been issued, and they’ve turned to attorneys in Amarillo to do the collecting. Still, not a lot of luck getting tickets paid. So now the cops are taking it to the streets—or at least to the window facing the street. They’re posting the list of past-due traffic offenders on the front window of the police department, for offenders and all the world—including families, neighbors, employers, and looky-loos—to see. When the police department gets its website up and running, it will post the names there, too. And if that doesn’t work, the cops will start arresting people. The police chief says they’re not out to embarrass people; they just want their money.
This is one town where the police are telling citizens to speed up ... paying their tickets, that is.
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