Sacramento police issued more vehicle-related citations in 2025 than in the previous two years, according to department data, with many tickets tied to registration, insurance and unlicensed driving.
Sacramento Police Department
The Sacramento Police Department increased vehicle-related citations over the last three years, data show, with the largest share of citations related to registration, insurance and unlicensed driving.
Its officers issued 13,083 citations in the city in 2025, up from 10,620 in 2024 and 8,398 in 2023 — about a 56% increase over the three-year period — according to data provided by the department.
Tickets for failing to stop at a stop sign rose sharply last year. In 2023, officers wrote 527 citations, and in 2024 623. Last year, they issued 908 citations for running past a stop.
The Police Department also increased enforcement of unsafe-speed violations. Officers issued 903 citations last year — more than double the number issued in 2023 and about a 50% increase over 2024.
Among the most common citations each year, the biggest change between 2023 and 2025 was for failing to stop at a limit line or crosswalk at a red signal. There were 436 citations in 2025, a 137% increase from 2023.
In each year, the most common citation for drivers was failure to provide evidence of current vehicle registration. Failure to provide proof of insurance and driving without a valid license ranked second and third, switching places during the three-year period. During all three years, citations under these statutes accounted for between 42% and 45% of total citations under the state Vehicle Code. Such violations may be cited alongside other offenses.
Citations for using a phone while driving also increased, although the department changed the specific statute used for some violations. In 2023, officers issued 593 citations for using a handheld device while driving. In 2025, they issued 740.
Consistent enforcement can improve road safety. San Francisco implemented automated speed enforcement on some streets last year. Preliminary data from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency found that at 15 locations analyzed, speeding fell by an average of 72% in the months after the cameras were installed.
Speed is often the main factor determining whether a crash causes severe injury or death. Sacramento has had relatively high rates of injury crashes, according to the Office of Traffic Safety.
At least nine people have died in collisions on city streets this year: Reema Ram, 37; Maria Aurora Victoria Titman, 29; Christian David Garcia Flores, 31; Eunice La Vonne Queener, 67; Paris Lamar Johnson, 34; Kalia Giselle Cabello Fernandez, 22; and three others whose names had not yet been released by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.
In 2025, crashes killed at least 32 people in the city, and in 2024 33 people died in vehicle crashes.
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Ariane Lange reports on regional transportation for The Sacramento Bee. She was a USC Center for Health Journalism 2023 California Health Equity Fellow. Previously, she worked at BuzzFeed News, where she covered gender-based violence and sexual harassment.