The San Francisco Police Department reports that the number of traffic citations they doled out is down 18 percent from last year and tickets handed out by traffic cops has dropped 44 percent from a year ago.

According to the San Francisco Examiner, a lot of it depends on which district you are driving in, as “some have seen significant drops in how many tickets were given out while others have soared.”

Captain Al Casciato, who heads the traffic bureau, told the paper that a reduction in the force due to retirements, transfers and a lack of training classes is just part of the reason for the decline in tickets. But the department has also changed its enforcement philosophy.

“What we’re doing is targeting enforcement to high-risk corridors, which in a way doesn’t increase the number of citations, but what it does is reduces the number of accidents,” Casciato told the Examiner.

Some stations have also made enforcement a higher priority, including the Ingleside police district, which has handed out more than 2,300 more traffic citations in the first five months of this year compared to 2010.

The Examiner also reports that citations for illegal cellphone use are way down this year.

Photo Credit: insidesfrealtestate.com

• Tag: citations, Enforcement, Parking Tickets, police, Traffic Bureau