Police Jurisdiction (Out of Area)
It is a very complex issue and varies not just with state & local laws, but with agency procedure and policy. Then, there is also the chasm between jurisdiction and venue (on which you could very well write a doctoral thesis).
In VA, the Uniform Traffic Summons (ticket) booklets are numbered, assigned to each officer/deputy and have the general district court address of the law enforcement officer's county or city pre-printed at the top. Court dates are also pre-assigned in advance.
When a summons is issued here, the court date and time to appear are written in by the officer. Our policy was that it was to be at least thirty days from when the infraction was committed - so as to allow planning time and the ability to hire legal counsel if desired by the defendant. Of course, appearing in court could be avoided by mailing in the fine & costs -- unless if was for a certain misdemeanor offense (reckless driving, etc.) that required one to appear in front of the judge. {But I digress!}
It is not impossible for an officer or deputy from one agency to "cite" a person for an offense committed in his presence elsewhere, but the hassle and headache would seem to be prohibitive.
Aside from that imbroglio, there is the issue of location, backup, officer safety and radio contact. So you make a traffic stop several miles away - do you know the landmarks, intersections and street names? Do you have the ability to contact the police department or sheriff's office with your radio system? How do you know the court date(s) available there?
Is your lieutenant going to approve the overtime, day off & travel pay (if applicable) so you can testify in front of a 'strange' judge in another county? Will the agency in that particular area think you are 'stepping on their toes' by making a stop on their turf? Will they bristle at the possibility of one of their officers also having to appear?
Our radio system was the pits, we could not talk with any adjacent departments; and thus had to relay everything through our dispatch. Once we were five miles beyond our county line, our old UHF system was basically useless. :bash:
Unless it was something extremely serious, our policy was to let "their agency" handle it. That's what cell phones and 911 are for, right? Call their local dispatch, inform them of your name, agency and location. Let them handle it, but assist them if asked to do so.
:awais:
By the way, my old agency did eventually upgrade to a better Motorola "digital" system in the years since I left. Now they can talk with some of the adjacent departments. Believe it or not, some sheriff's offices in VA still use VHF Lo-Band equipment!
:cursin:
