Despite recurring denials by top government officials, New Zealand law enforcement agencies have been implementing a traffic citation quota in order to generate revenue. Opposition leaders released an email yesterday that confirms a local school police force had been ordered to issue about one ticket every other day while school was in session.

Canterbury Police District Senior Sergeant John Robinson ordered his officers to issue 80 tickets, down from an earlier quota of 197.

"But do accept that my idea of 197 notices (one for each school day) may be too hard to achieve," Robinson wrote on August 3. "This is a major reduction... I will be expecting it to be achieved... If you are struggling to find any notices, please give me a time and location... and I will come and assist."

"This is an issue about quotas, about police being ordered to go out and 'find' a set number of tickets, about supposed directives from the Police Commissioner, and about denials from [Police Minister] Annette King," National Party Police Spokesman Chester Borrows said.

In the wake of damaging ticket quota memo leaks one year ago, King reassured parliament that government policy had succeeded in outlawing quotas.

"I can tell members that no such performance indicators now exist," King said in parliament on July 20, 2006.