Colorado police department says strategically-placed speed cameras making an impact
After six months of use, Wheat Ridge Police Department says its strategically-placed speed cameras are making an impact. One location is responsible for thousands of tickets.
"It's working. It's having the intended effect," said Alex Rose, public information officer for Wheat Ridge PD.
Rose believes the cameras are changing driver behavior.
"Folks who live in this area have come to the PD and said, 'Hey, I'm starting to see a line of cars going the speed limit around here,'" Rose added.
CBS Colorado asked to see the data for both the cameras on 32nd Avenue and those on 44th Avenue. Both were installed in April -- with a one-month warning period.
According to data shared with us by Wheat Ridge PD, in May, June and July, the police department mailed just over 11,000 citations to speeding drivers. Compare that to August, September and October: The number of mailed citations dropped to 7,814 -- a nearly 30% decrease.
"We're happy people are slowing down," Rose said. "At the end of the day, our job is to create public safety."
Drivers who receive a speed camera ticket face a fine alone; there's no penalty against their license, which has raised concerns that the program might be more about revenue.
Wheat Ridge has collected about $188,000 from the cameras at the time of publication. Based on the numbers it has seen so far, Wheat Ridge Police Department plans to add more speed cameras, including in January 2026.
"For this particular program, all the revenue generated from our automated speed cameras goes back into the general fund," Rose said. "It doesn't go directly to police, which means that money can be spent on things Wheat Ridge residents really value."
As a result, Wheat Ridge residents can expect to see more cameras around the city.
"(Wheat Ridge City Council) passed an ordinance for this program," Rose said. "So that opens the door for us to implement red light cameras. We're going to be rolling out our first red light camera at 44th and Kipling in addition to this rollout."