Title
Speed Enforcement Update
Description
This report provides the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee an update on the Phoenix Police Department's speed enforcement strategies.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
To ease call burden on Patrol, the Traffic Unit adopted a model primarily consisting of collision investigations around 2015. By 2020, several studies in communities throughout the country showed traffic enforcement, or a proactive approach to road safety, was more effective than the reactive approach of investigating collisions after the fact. In April 2022, the Traffic Unit moved to a more proactive traffic safety approach. Since the Unit adopted a more proactive approach the overall number of traffic citations for hazardous violations have increased while collisions have decreased.
Traffic Unit Staffing
The Traffic Unit is comprised of officers and supervisors specifically dedicated to traffic safety and enforcement. For the Unit, there are currently 54 allotted sworn positions, of which 34 are filled, along with five allotted civilian position, of which four are filled.
Traffic Enforcement and Collision Data
The Traffic Unit reports the following data for January through April of 2024:
- Tickets Issued: 8,130
- Total Charges: 12,984
- Collision Investigations: 331
- Notice of Violations: 652
- DUI Investigations: 78
- Van Blood Draws: 422
- Drug Recognition Evaluations: 2
- Commercial Vehicle Inspections: 73
- Special Events Worked: 23
Traffic Impact Program
A Traffic Impact Program (TIP) is a coordinated initiative involving five to 10 officers focused on a specific geographic area while leveraging a variety of tools, such RADAR enforcement, to provide enhanced enforcement of speed violations and other traffic law violations that are observed. Today, all four enforcement squads are conducting one 3-5 hour TIP, rotating precincts weekly, as well as one combined shift TIP every other week in rotating precincts, or approximately 18 TIPs per month (staffing and special events permitting) resulting in the following numbers from Jan. 1, 2024 through May 20, 2024:
- Number of TIPs: 60
- Moving violations: 1,943
- Non-moving violations/Equipment violations: 1,309
- Total charges: 3,252
- Total citations issued: 2,021
- Educational contacts: 79
- Towed vehicles: 70
- DUIs: 1
New Enforcement Program
Due to reduced staffing and the proven impact of data-driven policing practices, the Traffic Unit has implemented a new enforcement program to efficiently and strategically address our highest risk stretches of roadway. Each stretch of roadway was identified using accident data from the preceding year. The goal of this program is to reduce the number of serious/fatal accidents through proactive, high visibility traffic enforcement.
The program will address areas in each precinct, with each program lasting four weeks. The program has four phases:
- Week 1: Radar Trailer
- Week 2: Motor Enforcement
- Week 3: Patrol Enforcement
- Week 4: Radar Trailer
The first week of radar trailer deployment will capture data such as total number of vehicles, vehicles under or over the speed limit, vehicles over the excessive speed threshold, average speed and record the highest speed detected. During the following two weeks, the Traffic Unit and Patrol will provide enforcement efforts in the target area where they will provide education and issue warnings and citations. The program will wrap up with another week of radar trailer deployment to capture data to show if the enforcement improved speeding issues within the target area.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays and the Police Department.