Traffic stops plummeted during the pandemic, they may never bounce back

Traffic enforcement was falling in several cities before the pandemic but now it’s practically nonexistent in some places.

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Retired NYPD officer Jillian Snider said hostility against law enforcement has also contributed to the pullback.

“The increased violence against officers is serving as a deterrent for officers to go out there and do that proactive police work because they don’t want a situation to unfold and tragedy to occur for them,” said Snider, who now teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Just last month, NYPD officer Jonathan Diller was shot and killed during a traffic stop. The 31-year-old father left behind a wife and 1-year-old son.

From 2018 to 2023 the number of officers shot in the line of duty rose by 60%, according to the Fraternal Order of Police. So far this year, 10 officers have died while serving and 98 have been shot.

“If you have your whole community telling you, ‘we don’t want you to do this,’ and you’re really trying to facilitate a bigger partnership with them, this is something you’re going to have to consider,” said Snider.

Moving forward, Snider said communities and law enforcement will have to work together to find a compromise to keep streets safe.

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Dudley and Snider don’t expect traffic stops to return to pre-pandemic levels, and both think technology will become more common.

“We will start seeing more heavy reliance on red light cameras, bus stop cameras,” Snider said. “We’re going to have to start seeing that just because we don’t have the manpower to have someone driving up and down an interstate.”