(bright music) - Hello, I'm Stephen Hegg, the Crosscut KCTS 9 Newsroom.

(upbeat music) Seattle traffic enforcement cameras issued over 20 times more tickets than police officers in 2021.

That's a huge jump from 2019 when cameras issued a little over three times the tickets humans did according to Seattle Municipal Court data.

This trend could continue as cities lean on automatic enforcement amid staffing struggles in police departments.

Speed and red light cameras are tools many city leaders have hoped would improve safety amid a rise in road deaths locally and nationally.

But are traffic cameras reducing dangerous driving or making it worse?

City officials say cameras are improving safety but the data is unclear in many camera locations.

Cameras in school zones seem to have the most success in modifying driver behavior, perhaps because they are among the prices tickets issued by cameras starting at $237.

I'm Stephen Hegg, find nonprofit Northwest news every day on crosscut.com.

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