Arlington police officers issued 54% fewer traffic citations in 2023 than in 2016, according to data Tuesday afternoon as part of ongoing city budget discussions.
Council members have spent much of the month discussing lower revenues from citations 鈥� especially as more residents flag issues with motorists speeding and running red lights. Over half of respondents to Arlington鈥檚 annual citizen satisfaction survey
Andrew Piel, District 4 council member, said traffic safety is among the top issues that his constituents bring to him.
鈥淚t is not acceptable, bottom line, for traffic citations to stay that low. That indicates to me a lack of focus on an issue that our residents really, really care about and is directly related to public safety and it needs to get better,鈥� he said.
City Manager Trey Yelverton said the number of citations decreased the most between 2020 and 2021 鈥� and attributed the drop in traffic citations to the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened attention to social justice following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
鈥淭raffic stops aren鈥檛 as routine and customary, perhaps, as what they used to be and they create risk,鈥� Yelverton said.
Yelverton said discussions at the city council level help determine priorities.
鈥淎nd clearly the message has been sent as it relates to paying attention to and helping people safer on the roads through more visible traffic enforcement,鈥� he said.
Arlington Police have ramped up traffic enforcement and education efforts last year, as the city experienced an influx of traffic fatalities. The Safe Roads Initiative has continued into 2024, as police deploy more traffic enforcement units to monitor city streets and intersections where they record higher instances of crashes.
As of July, police have issued 33,480 citations so far this year 鈥� around 6,000 fewer than those issued last year.
The fall in citations has been a sticking point as Arlington City Council members consider cost-saving measures and a 1-cent property tax rate increase, as property tax growth stagnates, and the city assumes more costs for city services.
The Arlington Police Department plans to move 10 officers in special units to the patrol division in 2025, as well as add $1.3 million to match requirements for additional police officers that were added through a federal grant.
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