Editing Traffic stop (section)

===Exemptions for police friends, families and contacts===
Several police unions print cards for members to give to friends, family members, and professional contacts. Officers who make a traffic stop and are shown the card are under pressure to let the holder off with a warning instead of a ticket.<ref name="way">{{Cite news |last=Way |first=Katie |date=2020-09-02 |title=The Little Cards That Tell Police 'Let's Forget This Ever Happened' |language=en |work=Vice |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/pba-card-police-courtesy-cards/ |access-date=2023-06-05}}</ref><ref name="helmore">{{Cite news |last=Helmore |first=Edward |date=2023-06-04 |title=Traffic cop sues city over 'get-out-of-jail-free' cards for NYPD friends and family |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/04/nypd-lawsuit-courtesy-cards-traffic-tickets |access-date=2023-06-05 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The pressure can be from fellow officers<ref name="way"/> and supervisors.<ref name="helmore"/> 

The cards have been issued in New York City, New Jersey,<ref name="way"/> Boston,<ref name="sanok">{{Cite news |last=Sanok |first=Ann |date=2007-07-06 |title=Recreation struggles to survive |language=en-US |work=South Coast Today |url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/2007/07/06/recreation-struggles-to-survive/52857625007/ |access-date=2023-06-05}}</ref> Los Angeles<ref name="grace">{{Cite news |last=Grace |first=Roger |date=2015-10-07 |title='Courtesy Cards' Shield Bearer From Traffic Tickets |work=Metropolitan News-Enterprise |url=http://www.metnews.com/articles/2015/perspectives102715.htm |access-date=2023-06-05}}</ref> and Philadelphia.<ref name="steele">{{Cite news |last=Steele |first=Allison |date=2010-06-07 |title=Police say don't confuse courtesy cards with a free pass |language=en |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/local/20100607_Police_say_don_t_confuse_courtesy_cards_with_a_free_pass.html |access-date=2023-06-05}}</ref> Cards were a "time-honored" tradition in Los Angeles by 1923 despite efforts by the police chief and a city councilman to stop them. The California Highway Patrol gave cards under Chief Cato, appointed in 1931.<ref name="grace"/> The cards were widespread in the United States in the 1950s, including by criminals. In 1976 the New Hampshire Governor handed them out to large contributors.<ref name="grace"/> The New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board in 2006 ruled the cards are private property and may not be confiscated without cause by police.<ref name="grace"/>

Law firms say that showing the card, and especially then asking for lenience, can be illegal if it is considered trying to influence an officer.<ref name="rosenblum">{{Cite web |date=2021-06-19 |title=Do PBA Cards Really Work? - Rosenblum Law |url=https://traffictickets.com/blog/pba-cards-work/ |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=traffictickets.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="weiss">{{Cite web |last=Weiss |first=Matthew |date=2022-11-22 |title=What is a PBA Card and Will One Help Me Get Out of a Ticket? |url=https://nytrafficticket.com/what-is-a-pba-card-and-will-one-help-me-get-out-of-a-ticket/ |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=Weiss & Associates, P.C. |language=en-US}}</ref>

The cards have a racial effect, since police are disproportionately white. The cards go to whites disproportionately, including as Christmas gifts,<ref name="bal"/> leaving minorities with disproportionate tickets. The racial effect is increased when officers have quotas of tickets to issue, which then go disproportionately to minority citizens who lack a card.<ref name="helmore"/>

The cards have been used since at least 1936.<ref name="way"/><ref name="alex">{{Cite news |last=Alexander |first=Jack |date=1936-10-03 |title=Independent Cop, Profile of Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine |work=New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1936/10/03/independent-cop-i}}</ref> 20-30 have been given to each police officer each year, and 10-20 to each retired officer, so they have also been available on auction sites for up to $200.<ref name="bal">{{Cite news |last=Balsamini |first=Dean |date=2018-01-21 |title=Police union slashes number of 'get out of jail free' cards issued |language=en-US |work=New York Post |url=https://nypost.com/2018/01/21/police-union-slashes-number-of-get-out-of-jail-free-cards-issued/ |access-date=2023-06-05}}</ref><ref name="way"/>