Summonses jump 81% in first week after Jersey City doubles traffic enforcement unit
Mayor James Solomon said the change responds to long-standing complaints about dangerous driving.
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Jersey City police wrote 1,495 traffic tickets in the first week after the city added 10 officers to its traffic unit. That’s up 81% from 824 the week before, the mayor’s office said Tuesday.
The Oct. 19 move pulled 10 officers off patrol and brought the Traffic Enforcement Division to 19 officers, including eight on motorcycles. The city said the new motorcycles were paid for with seized forfeiture funds, not tax dollars.
Mayor James Solomon said the change responds to long-standing complaints about dangerous driving.
“Nearly everyone in Jersey City has a story about a driver speeding down their block or running a red light in front of a school,” Solomon said in a statement.
Over two weeks, from Oct. 11 to Oct. 24, the unit wrote 2,735 summonses. About 335 were on Grand Street, where the city said it has focused enforcement. Officers wrote 134 summonses citywide using radar to catch speeders.
Starting this month, police and traffic unit officers will attend the Captain’s meeting in each of the city’s four police districts. Residents can raise traffic concerns and ask how the unit works.
