Red-light cameras could return in Phoenix to make up for police shortage

Miguel Torres, Arizona Republic
·4 min read

Facing staffing shortages and traffic deaths and injuries, the Phoenix Police Department has been giving serious thought to bringing back red-light cameras to curb driver habits.

At Wednesday’s Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee, Assistant Chief Sean Kennedy and Streets Director Kini Knudson presented their thoughts and findings on the possible benefits of traffic cameras.

Didn’t we do this before?

Phoenix set up red-light cameras and speed-tracking vans in 2001 across the city in “strategic” intersections and places with high traffic volume and traffic crimes.

It lasted until 2019, when concerns about privacy, effectiveness and discrimination led the city council to end the program.

According to Knudson, the data from the 12 cameras last used in 2019 showed a 31% drop in red light running crashes at the cross-streets they were used and a 57% drop in red light running crashes in the directions the cameras were facing.

In 2021, Arizona saw its highest number of road crash fatalities in 15 years, with 1,180 people died in accidents statewide, the Arizona Department of Transportation reported.

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Why would Phoenix bring red light cameras back?

In the early 2000s, the traffic unit boasted over 130 officers on motorcycles patrolling Phoenix streets.

Today, that number has dropped to 43.

The department has been struggling through a staffing deficit rooted in a hiring freeze started in 2008 during the Great Recession.

One benefit to cameras, according to Kennedy, would be the support they would give to their understaffed unit.

From 2014 to 2021, Phoenix saw 144 deaths from crashes and almost 11,000 injuries.

And though crashes have gone down about 7% since 2021, the number of citations has gone up to about 3,900 a month.

“Knowing that we can't be everywhere all at once, by adding technology to the equation, it just increases our outreach in terms of what we're able to provide in terms of putting officers in the right places,” Kennedy said.

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What kind of cameras would be placed?

Knudson talked about five types of automated enforcement options:

  • Red-light running cameras

  • Speed cameras at green lights

  • Fixed midblock speed cameras posted on long stretches of road

  • Portable speed towers

  • Mobile speed vehicles

The cost of implementing red light cameras in Phoenix can vary depending on the specific program, camera types, and pricing models, Knudson explained. he talked about various pricing models including revenue share, subscription, hybrid, and city ownership. Many cities are moving away from city ownership due to high initial costs. However, the exact cost for implementing red-light cameras in Phoenix remains to be seen. The previous contract would have cost the city about $800,000.

Renewing concerns

Councilmembers Jim Waring and Betty Guardado both echoed old reservations about bringing the program back to Phoenix.

Waring and Guardado questioned the cameras' effectiveness, referencing the viral video of a red light running crash that nearly killed a family crossing the street in 2019.

“That red light camera did not stop that person from running that red light, and a family was about to die,” Guardado said.

Waring also raised concern about the extent of surveillance and tracking of citizens as they made their way across the city.

Guardado and Waring both stressed the past issues of equity and fairness when the majority of those given tickets were people who couldn’t afford to pay them.

“I'm not gonna get started, again, on the equity issue that we talked about four years ago, the lack of people being able to pay for these tickets,” Guardado said.

Guardado instead wanted the city to focus on Vision Zero, a program implemented by the city last year that addresses public safety through street design.

She argued that the root causes of accidents, such as speeding and failure to yield, were related to the design and conditions of roadways.

Waring expressed concern that the efforts should go to putting more officers back on motorcycles.

“That's what's going to make a difference mobile officers out on the streets,” he said.

Talks about the cameras would continue later once more data and research could be presented to the committee.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Red-light cameras could return to Phoenix to help police