MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee police have been issuing more traffic citations ever since the department formed the Traffic Safety Unit two years ago, but Milwaukee Municipal Court data shows just a fraction of those fines are being paid.
David Cooper says he was caught going 21 miles per hour over the speed limit last summer so he showed up to the municipal court to pay his $149 fine.
"I've definitely checked my driving since then because I wouldn't want to come back,” he said.
While Cooper says money out of his wallet was enough to change his driving behavior, municipal court records show nearly half of the speeding tickets issued between 2020 and 2022 have yet to be paid.
A municipal court administrator said tickets issued late last year aren’t past due yet, but records show more than 8,000 speeding tickets from the two prior years have yet to be paid.
The court is also awaiting payments on 77 percent of reckless driving citations issued from 2020 through 2022.
Cooper questions whether traffic tickets are an effective deterrent for those who refuse to pay the fine.
“It definitely shows that people don’t really respond to just fees being placed on one’s self to just take care of a ticket,” he said.
Milwaukee Municipal Court Presiding Judge Phil Chavez says the consequence of not complying with the court usually ends up costing drivers much more in the long run.
“The money portion of this is not the only deterrent,” he said. “There may not be an instant payment from people but over time it will catch up with them sooner or later with job opportunities, insurance, things of that nature. I guarantee you they don’t see all of the things that could come out of this and how detrimental it is to their lives.”
Judge Chavez says if a cited driver refuses to pay or respond to the court after several notices to appear, state law requires their license to be suspended for a year.
Additionally, the fines don’t just go away. Once they’re past due, a collections agency gets involved and municipal court notifies Wisconsin’s Department of Revenue to intercept the amount owed from their state tax returns.
"In my courtroom, if they have a situation where they can't pay, they need a little more time, there's personal situations that come up, I can work with you at that, but come in and talk to me,” Judge Chavez said.
Judge Chavez says the harshest penalty Milwaukee Municipal Court can impose for neglecting a traffic violation is suspending the person’s driving privileges. He acknowledges that punishment doesn’t always work.
"You can still get behind the wheel,” he said. “Nothing's stopping them from doing that."
In an interview last week, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeff Norman told TMJ4 News he believes traffic citations lead to accountability for a majority of people who are pulled over. He says MPD won’t be letting up when it comes to traffic enforcement.
“There's always challenges of dealing with those who want to be stubborn with their illegal or their criminal behavior and that's where using other tools, unregistered vehicles are being towed,” he said. “We have over several hundred towed. Dealing with people who refuse to pay their citations, we have two lawsuits that have already been enacted and there's more to come."
Back at the municipal court, Judge Chavez says if you can’t afford to pay the ticket in full right away, there are alternatives. The court offers payment plans as little as $20 every three months or community service in lieu of the fine.
