Los Alamitos leading Southern California in traffic ticket revenue

Across Southern California, hundreds of officers have written millions of tickets totaling about $2.4 billion. While police officers say it's just about safety, some suspect it's really about racing up revenue.

In Los Alamitos, there is one man whose sole purpose in the 2-square-mile city is to catch drivers violating traffic laws. 

"Ultimately, this is my calling," Officer Christian Cruz said. "Looking for people running red lights, unsafe speed and distracted driving."

On average, Cruz said he issues at least one citation per hour during each of his 12-hour shifts over the four years he's been with the Los Alamitos Police Department. 

"I make 15-20 traffic stops," Cruz said. "[Tickets] can vary, anywhere from 10-15."

Combined with red-light camera tickets and parking tickets, some Los Alamitos residents have become frustrated with the number of traffic citations in their small city. 

"I've heard complaints," Los Alamitos Police parking officer Steven Paz said. 

California ticket data shows that Los Alamitos officers have issued $6.9 million in tickets over the last 10 years, accounting for 3.9% of the city's total revenue. 

"Hearing the figure, $6.9 million definitely sounds like a lot of money," Los Alamitos Police Chief Michael Claborn said. "It's a lot of money to me."

Claborn said he has 25 sworn officers in his department, with Cruz being the only full-time officer assigned to traffic patrols. He denied that the department has a ticket quota. 

"That's never happened in my career and never will," Claborn said.

In contrast, the Los Angeles Police Department has 200 traffic officers, roughly eight times the number of sworn personnel in the Los Alamitos Police Department. Despite the larger force, tickets account for only 0.79% of Los Angeles' total city revenue, one of the lowest percentages in Southern California. However, the monetary value of tickets in Los Angeles exceeds that in Orange County, totaling about $1.38 billion.

Los Angeles Police Sgt. Stephen Soinsky has written about 30,000 tickets over the last 28 years of his career. 

"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."

Former Los Angeles Controller Ron Galperin examined the revenue from cities throughout Southern California and found that tickets account for a greater portion of revenue in comparatively smaller cities like Los Alamitos and Manhattan Beach.

"Certainly, some cities very much depend more on that kind of revenue than others," Galperin said. "In some cities, it is a big profit center. In Los Angeles, once upon a time, it used to be a profit center as well, but it isn't so anymore."

Galperin's audit found that Los Angeles has barely broken even when considering the costs of officers, parking aides and processing the tickets. Chief Claborn said it's a similar story in Los Alamitos.

"When you consider the costs of an officer, benefits and salary," Claborn said. "When you consider the costs of the red-light systems that we have to lease from a third-party vendor, that number is significantly lower.

Los Alamitos also has one of the busiest intersections in Orange County. With thousands of troops at the military base and the city's race course, 170,000 motorists move through the intersection every day.

Both Los Angeles and Los Alamitos officers said the traffic tickets are intended to improve driver safety.

"We're out here doing our due diligence and making roads safer for people," Officer Cruz said.