Jonathan Hall Uncovers: Ticket Towns

In an area north of Boston, drivers with a lead foot are in deep trouble.

Driver
"I've gotten pulled over a lot. I was only going seven miles over so hopefully he'll be fair."

With radar guns armed and ready...

Jonathan Hall, 7News
"What's the fastest you've ever caught somebody going?"

Officer Anderson, Newbury Police
"I would say in the high 90s."

...and tickets books handy, police here are targeting thousand of speeders each year...

Georgetown Police Officer
"You're being stopped for 42 miles an hour in a 30 mile an hour zone."

...writing them warnings or citations.

Passenger
"I feel like they need to lighten up a little bit."

7News examined RMV data for about 140 cities and towns inside Route 495 to find just how much money each community makes from moving violations.

We took population into account, then crunched the numbers to find the places that took in the most money per resident.

And we were surprised to find that five small towns, clustered together on the North Shore, made the top 10.

Chief James Mulligan, Georgetown Police
"We want to make sure that people in this community, and visitors to this community, stay safe."

Number one in the group, Newbury, brought in $15 per resident in the last fiscal year. That adds up to more than $100,000 total.

Nearby Georgetown, Merrimac, Newburyport, and Rowley were also in the top 10.

The towns close. The chiefs friendly. Coincidence?

Jonathan Hall, 7News
"Do you have any sort of a pact with your fellow chiefs?"

Chief James Mulligan, Georgetown Police
"None, no."

Chief James Flynn, Merrimac Police
"No, there's not."

Chief Michael Reilly, Newbury Police
"No."

Some of the people who live in these so called "ticket towns" have their suspicions about these speed traps.

Peter Lobley, Georgetown resident
"I don't think it's safety, no I don't."

Jonathan Hall, 7News
"They need the money?

Peter Lobley, Georgetown resident
"Money is what drives everything."

And we found some research to back that up.

Professor Michael Makowsky did an extensive study of police ticketing procedures in Massachusetts and found officers here are more likely to fine people, rather than give out warnings, when their community is strapped for cash.

Prof. Michael Makowsky, Towson University
"They're a lot less likely to give them a warning, a lot more likely to issue them a fine."

But the chiefs we spoke with all deny it.

Chief James Flynn, Merrimac Police
"We don't want to just be a collection agency for citations."

All three of the chiefs we talked to point out their officers write many more warnings than citations. But, they don't apologize for those flashing blue lights in your rearview mirror.

Chief Michael Reilly, Newbury Police
"If you speed in town, and an officer sees you, that officer will pull you over."

We found another ticket hotspot in Eastern Massachusetts. Bedford finishes tops west of Boston. In addition, Hopkinton, Littleton, and Concord finished in the top 10 for highest per capita ticket revenue inside Route 495.

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