Study: Chicago Speed Cameras More Equitable Than Police

A study of Chicago’s controversial speed cameras indicates that they issue citations more equitably than human police officers. “Cameras can detect dangerous moving violations, such as serious speeding and running red lights, without the need for immediate police involvement. Automated enforcement alone won’t guarantee safe streets, but cameras have reduced fatal and serious injury crashes substantially where deployed, including in Chicago.”

Research by Wenfei Xu, David Levinson, Michael J. Smart, and Nebiyou Yonas Tilahun reveals that “when speed cameras are doing the ticketing, the proportion of tickets issued to Black and white drivers aligns closely with their respective share of roadway users. With human enforcement, in contrast, police officers stop Black drivers at a rate that far outstrips their presence on the road.” In areas of Chicago where half of drivers are Black, they account for 70 percent of police stops.

Using automated traffic enforcement can be one step toward more equitable policing. In Illinois, lawmakers are proposing to ban traffic stops “solely based on noncriminal and minor offenses such as improper vehicle registration, seat belt violations or lane usage mistakes,” while Berkeley is considering the use of trained civilians for routine traffic enforcement — similar to parking enforcement in most cities — to reduce the risk of interactions with armed law enforcement.