>For example, it gives them a good excuse to increase head count as they would claim needing x number of people for patrol vs y for traffic

Good thing they don't get to set their own budget

>Plus, if a traffic stop is done on someone dangerous, it feels like a waste for them to need to call in backup

This is rare, and another weak argument. Without more clarification, your argument implies police should be more armed and/or they should travel in larger groups. If you don't agree with either concept, why is the status quo the right level?

>Bounty programs are ripe for abuse

Everything is abusable. It's about balancing trade-offs. I struggle to imagine what kind of terrible abuse someone could do with this though. No one's going to be dragging cars into bike lanes for the sake of getting a cut of a ticket