The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that after the number of arrests for DUI fell slightly last year, the Roswell Police Department began requiring police working the night shift to make 25 DUI arrests a year or risk poor performance reviews and work reassignments.

This is terrible news for the average driver. As I prove nearly daily in court, arresting someone for DUI is based mainly on an officer's observations. Despite check lists and training, the arrest decision is incredibly subjective. An officer must determine if a driver meets many different criteria that may or may not indicate a driver has had too much to drink. Any number of things can indicate either intoxication or, frankly, someone just having a bad night: road side tests are poor measures of a person's blood alcohol level and don't hold up in court. Quotas encourage officers to make a DUI arrest in cases that are borderline in situations where there is evidence to the contrary, and even in situations where there is a good deal of doubt on the officer's part. This is unfair to drivers. A DUI arrest is a life altering event. It can ruin careers, hurt chances to enroll in school, embarrass upstanding citizens, and raise insurance rates. It takes time and resources to resolve.

There is one positive aspect to quotas: they make my job a little bit easier. I will immediately challenge every Roswell officer's testimony in court. Did the officer truly think the driver was intoxicated, or was the officer in fear of losing his or her job assignment?