In parts of Southern California, the flashing lights and hum of red-light cameras have become so commonplace that they fade into the background. But what speeds through the minds of drivers is whether they\u2019re actually serving public safety or generating revenue.<\/p>\n
Los Alamitos, a two-square-mile city in Orange County, is where Officer Christian Cruz has made traffic enforcement his full-time mission.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, this is my calling,” Officer Christian Cruz told CBS News. (1) “Looking for people running red lights, unsafe speed and distracted driving.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not exaggerating. During his 12-hour shifts, Cruz admits he writes at least one citation every hour, stopping 15 to 20 drivers a day \u2014 a rhythm he\u2019s been beating for four years.<\/p>\n
That vigilance has led to $6.9 million in tickets being issued over the past decade, according to state data. That accounts for about 3.9% of Los Alamitos\u2019 total city revenue. In contrast, the Los Angeles Police Department employs roughly 200 traffic officers, eight times the size of Los Alamitos\u2019 entire police force, yet tickets make up only 0.79 % of that city\u2019s revenue.<\/p>\n
The question now isn\u2019t just who\u2019s speeding, it\u2019s whether smaller cities like Los Alamitos are becoming financially dependent on speeders and unsafe drivers.<\/p>\n
Some residents say the ticketing feels constant. Even though local officials say it\u2019s about road safety, the totals shocked even police Chief Michael Claborn.<\/p>\n
“Hearing the figure $6.9 million definitely sounds like a lot of money,” Claborn said. (2)<\/p>\n
Claborn leads a 25-person department, and only one of those officers, Cruz, focuses entirely on traffic enforcement. He maintains there\u2019s no quota system in place.<\/p>\n
Across the U.S., many small towns have come to rely on fines and fees as a steady stream of local revenue. A New York Times analysis of municipal budgets, court filings and state highway data found the practice is common in communities with fewer than 30,000 residents. (3)<\/p>\n
Los Alamitos, with a population of just under 12,000, slides into that category.<\/p>\n
In more than 730 municipalities nationwide, fines make up at least 10% of total city revenue, which in some cases is enough to fund entire police departments.<\/p>\n
Even so, Los Alamitos sits at one of Orange County\u2019s busiest intersections \u2014 Katella Avenue and Los Alamitos Boulevard \u2014 where traffic from the Joint Forces Training base and Race Course pushes roughly 170,000 vehicles through each day.<\/p>\n
Read more: Robert Kiyosaki warns of a ‘Greater Depression’ coming to the US \u2014 with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 ‘easy-money’ assets will bring in \u2018great wealth\u2019<\/a>. How to get in now<\/p>\n Los Angeles police sergeant Stephen Soinsky, who\u2019s written nearly 30,000 tickets over his 28-year career, says the idea that officers write tickets solely for revenue has been around for decades.<\/p>\n “I’ve always heard someone say you can make $1 million if you set up on this intersection,” Soinsky said. “I can tell you we’ve never written a ticket for revenue.”<\/p>\n Los Alamitos Police Chief Michael Claborn echoes that sentiment, adding that traffic fines don\u2019t flow directly into city accounts. Once you factor in officer pay, benefits and the cost of leasing red-light camera systems, much of that money is already allocated.<\/p>\n Still, for smaller departments, those fines can make a noticeable difference in balancing the budget, and the costs ultimately trickle down to drivers. A California speeding ticket can range from $35 to $500 before additional court and administrative fees, which often double the final total. (4)<\/p>\n A single citation can also hit your wallet in more covert ways: Getting a ticket can raise your insurance premiums by as much as 20% a year, and that can linger for three to five years. (5) And if a ticket goes unpaid or is paid late, it can lead to license suspensions or collection notices.<\/p>\n That can have a ripple effect on an already costly violation. Drivers may also face demerit points on their license, which can hurt job prospects if they rely on car-heavy employment or lead to higher borrowing costs if insurers flag them as a high risk.<\/p>\n On the flipside, fine revenue can help fund local services for cities. But for drivers, it can spiral into a burden that far outlasts the moment they were pulled over.<\/p>\n “We’re out here doing our due diligence and making roads safer for people,” Cruz said.<\/p>\n Join 200,000+ readers and get Moneywise\u2019s best stories and exclusive interviews first \u2014 clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.<\/a><\/p>\n We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.<\/p>\n CBS News (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>); The New York Times (3<\/a>); Driver\u2019s Ed (4<\/a>); Wawanesa (5<\/a>).<\/p>\n This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In parts of Southern California, the flashing lights and hum of red-light cameras have become so commonplace that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,17307,17305,9176,17308,9177,17306,3843,611,17310,17309,14238,1009,7374],"class_list":["post-21268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-chief-michael-claborn","tag-christian-cruz","tag-dave-ramsey","tag-flashing-lights","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-los-alamitos","tag-los-angeles-police-department","tag-orange-county","tag-poor-dad","tag-rich-dad","tag-robert-kiyosaki","tag-southern-california","tag-traffic-enforcement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}