I remember gift cards originally being novel in the early 2000’s because they could be swiped like a credit card for purchases, unlike gift certificates, which they replaced.

If you had a girlfriend in the late 80s, I don’t see how police could have been bribed with gift cards as long as you can remember.

I should also add that I myself have never heard of it being common to bribe SF cops with gift cards, in any decade.

I do believe that you are writing the truth, but it is extremely unbelievable to me. To be honest, I've never been pulled over for traffic violations, but bribing officers with gift cards being "common" sounds like it could lead to some really bad place. It's a good thing it hasn't yet. Bribes have many drawbacks compared to traffic tickets.

But if a single one of them don't like that you tried they can ruin your life much worse than a traffic ticket.

“Oh whoops, I accidentally grabbed the wrong card from my wallet”

Nobody says “hey here’s the bribe”, they act like they’re mistakenly handing over money or whatever. This is basic bribery etiquette.

I should have been clearer. The way the bribes work is you have a friend who works on the force find out what the ticketing officer likes. Then you give the GC to the friend who gives it to the ticketing officer. People who grew up in the city invariably know at least one or two people on the force.