Implementing the necessary steps to comply with a court order may be having a chilling effect on traffic enforcement operations by Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies here.

A federal judge issued an order in October finding that the Sheriff’s Office engaged in a practice of racial profiling in making traffic stops. The order was for MCSO to cease the practice and outlined new practices.

Sheriff’s Capt. Joe Rodriquez, commander of the Sheriff’s District 7 based in Fountain Hills, said a plethora of paperwork has come with the implementation of that court order. He said deputies are making an effort, but there is a learning curve.

On April 24, Rodriquez was making a public presentation related to enforcement activity for the third quarter of the current fiscal year (January through March).

One significant slide in activity reflected by the quarterly report was in the area of traffic citations.

MCSO in District 7 issued 308 traffic citations during the third quarter in fiscal year 2013-14. That is down from 433 the same quarter of 2012-13.

The number of citations is also down steadily over the current fiscal year. During the first quarter, July through September, there were 557 tickets issued and 417 during the second quarter.

When Rodriquez was asked whether this fall off might reflect a transitional gap or a hesitation by deputies to make traffic stops, he said they may be “apprehensive to engage.”

He also noted that currently all of the extra paperwork that goes with the court order is being done by hand.

By this fall all of the equipment to go through the process electronically will be installed to streamline the process.

At the same time the number of traffic citations was falling off during the third quarter, the number of traffic accidents in the district nearly doubled. There were 44 incidents a year ago compared to 82 during this past quarter.

Rodriquez was asked whether he believes there is a direct relationship between accidents and the number of traffic citations.

“There has to be a correlation,” he said. “I don’t see how there could not be.

“That’s a concern we need to address.”

Mayor Linda Kavanagh attended Rodriquez’s briefing last week, and while not as convinced of the correlation between the two, she did express some concern.

“Many factors affect accident rates and the number of traffic stops that police officers make in any given period of time,” Kavanagh said.

“I suspect that there are multiple reasons at work in this instance, but I strongly suspect that the federal court order plays some role.

“Many observers were shocked at the judicial overreach that this federal judge has taken in ‘monitoring’ our deputies. I share that concern and hope that this judge’s meddling in the everyday operations of law enforcement stops soon.

“The court should have restricted its order to setting performance goals for compliance and avoided playing police supervisor by mandating specific actions. Judges may know judicial procedure, but they rarely know police procedure.”

As of press time the Sheriff’s Office was unable to confirm whether there were similar trends in traffic enforcement in other areas of Maricopa County.