In the early days of the pandemic in 2020, traffic stops by the police plummeted around the country, as fewer cars were on the road and as agencies instructed officers to avoid nonessential contact with the public.
But in the months and years that followed, a distinct pattern formed in many cities: The cars came back in full force, but the traffic enforcement didn’t.
By the end of 2023, the police in Baltimore, New Orleans, and San Francisco were making fewer than half the traffic stops they did prepandemic. In other police departments that don’t publicly track stops, like in Seattle and New York, the citations given during stops dropped off, too. The downturn appears even among some state agencies that monitor road safety on highways, like the Texas Highway Patrol and Connecticut State Police.
Full story: Traffic Enforcement Dwindled in the Pandemic. In Many Places, It Hasn’t Come Back.