San Diego

After a routine audit, San Diego Police Department officials are investigating allegations that some traffic enforcement personnel “padded” their daily activity logs.

“We’re looking into allegations that officers assigned to certain areas were taking credit for activities they may not have generated,” Assistant Police Chief Dave Worden said.

Worden would not give the number of people involved, the specifics of the allegations or say if those involved were sworn officers or civilian traffic personnel. He did say, however, that the investigation was administrative, not criminal, and had been going on “for a couple of months” and is expected to conclude after another 30 days.

“To release any specifics would be premature,” Worden said. “If these things turn out to be unsubstantiated, then we have created the impression that someone has done something really bad.”

Capt. Nancy Goodrich, who is in charge of the traffic division, echoed Worden’s hesitation about discussing details of the investigation.

“We were just looking into the activities of the officers, like any good supervisors, and found something that we wanted to look into further,” she said.

The duties of the 250 traffic enforcement officers in the traffic division include issuing citations for moving violations, investigating serious traffic accidents and enforcing parking regulations, she said.