No. It's not.
When I was 17 I was pulled over by a small town cop for speeding. I really was speeding, and I own that. The cop yanked me out of the car, slammed me against the hood, frisked me, handcuffed me and shoved me in the back of his cruiser. All this machismo to write me a speeding ticket.
A second cop pulled up. That cop came up to the first cop's cruiser and told the first one that he hadn't met his quota (and he used that exact word, "I ain't met my quota"), so between the two of them they decided the second cop could cite me for an illegal turn I didn't make. I ended up going to court over it, and through a bizarre twist I won't explain here, I actually got out of the speeding ticket and ended up paying the ticket for the illegal turn I didn't make. Go figure.
A few years later I was working television news. My reporter was chatting with a cop on a crime scene, and they got on the subject of tickets (apparently someone at our station had a lead foot and was well known to the cops). The cop said something like, "We got our quota to meet. I mean, we're not supposed to call it a quota. It's not
really a quota. But if I don't write enough tickets I hear about it, so it's a quota."
So if it's a myth, somebody needs to tell that to the cops, because they apparently didn't get that memo.
And then there are stories like this:
Los Angeles approves $6-million settlement over alleged traffic ticket quotas
Waldo cops say they've been under ticket quota by Chief Mike Szabo
Former Alabama cop claims he was fired after blowing whistle on ticket quotas
One North Texas Officer Says Ticket Quotas Do Exist…And It May Be A Ticket To A Trophy
So if it's a myth, somebody needs to tell that to the police administrators and city governments, because they apparently didn't get that memo either.