Officials in the Antelope Valley city of Lancaster Friday were cheering a report that showed a correlation between recent traffic enforcement efforts and a sharp drop in the number of vehicle collisions.
Citing a joint report by the Lancaster Police Department, which was established in 2023, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which cooperates in the provision of police services in Lancaster, the city pointed to strong early first-quarter results from its investment in increased traffic enforcement, with total citations increasing 116%, hazardous citations increasing 144% and collisions dropping by 22%, compared to the same year-ago quarter.
“The report also shows an 18% decrease in injury collisions, a 25% decrease in non-injury collisions and a 35% decrease in DUI collisions,” according to a city statement.
In real numbers, the report showed total collisions dropped from 476 to 371; fatal collisions held steady at four; injury collisions fell from 221 to 181; non-injury collisions went from 251 to 187; DUI collisions were reduced from 31 to 20; and DUI arrests were down from 121 to 66.
At the same time, total citations increased from 656 to 1,419 and hazardous citations jumped from 656 to 1,331.
“We made the decision to invest in traffic enforcement because reckless driving has real consequences for Lancaster families,” said Mayor R. Rex Parris. “These numbers show that when you put more officers in the field and enforce the law, people change their behavior. Fewer collisions mean fewer injuries, fewer lives disrupted and safer streets for our residents. This is also a credit to the way our hybrid (policing) model is working, with Lancaster PD and LASD continuing to work together to deliver stronger public safety outcomes for our community.”