Over the past week, the Sacramento Police Department has received inquiries from the community regarding the enforcement of the California Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 21955 and the Sacramento City Code (SCC) which requires pedestrians to use a crosswalk when crossing a roadway, 10.20.020 SCC. 

Included below are the two applicable sections for reference:

·       21955 California Vehicle Code (CVC) - Between adjacent intersections controlled by traffic control signal devices or by police officers, pedestrians shall not cross the roadway at any place except in a crosswalk

·       10.20.020 Sacramento City Code (SCC) Pedestrians must use crosswalks.  No pedestrian shall cross a through street within three hundred (300) feet of a crosswalk other than within such crosswalk, except at a location where a school bus is stopped and is displaying flashing red lights. (Prior code § 25.03.051)

These two laws are examples of statutes enacted to help protect pedestrians from being hit by moving vehicles.  Enforcement of ordinances and codes are one of many strategies utilized by the Department to educate and correct dangerous behavior.  Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in fatalities in our community. 

In 2015, the City of Sacramento had 25 fatal vehicle accidents, 8 involving pedestrians and 4 involving bicyclists. 

In 2016, the City saw an increase in fatalities involving vehicles to 37.  There were 18 fatalities involving pedestrians and 8 involving bicyclists. 

This year so far, the City has had 15 fatal vehicle collisions, 9 of which have involved pedestrians and 1 involving a bicyclist. 

Last year, in an effort to address the traffic concerns in the City of Sacramento, the Department applied for and received a $622,627 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program directed towards traffic-related enforcement and public awareness efforts to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries.  Activities that the grant funds include bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement. 

On Friday, a local media outlet made a request to the Department for information regarding the number of citations issued for “jaywalking”, a term loosely used for crossing, walking in the street or road unlawfully or without regard for approaching traffic.  The request was for the number of citations by patrol district, race and ethnicity.   While a detailed graph was provided, clarifying information has been provided to explain the disparity and reason for enforcement efforts in key geographic areas. The graph below was released to the Sacramento Bee on Friday, April 14, 2017.

The Sacramento Police Department does not track ethnicity, only race.  The citation software utilized by the Department only allows for five race categories and does not allow for sub-categories.  Therefore, Hispanics, Whites and East Indians are categorized under ‘White’ on the above chart.

After an in-depth analysis into the citations issued, a breakdown of them is outlined below:

In 2015, police officials gathered a group of community and business leaders to identify ways to support and improve the Del Paso Boulevard Property and Business Improvement District (PBID).  Pedestrian safety along Del Paso Boulevard, Arden Way and El Camino Boulevard was of paramount concern.  A comprehensive strategy was developed with input from the District 2 Council Office.  This strategy included directed enforcement of the laws and ordinances surrounding pedestrian safety, most notably, the two sections referenced above.

To achieve the goal of improving pedestrian safety within the Del Paso Boulevard Business Improvement District, the Sacramento Police Department used the OTS grant funding to conduct directed enforcement activities.  The chart above reflects that effort with 68 percent of all the citations within the City of Sacramento coming from the area of three intersections within the PBID, or 92 percent of all citations issued in Council District 2.

To provide our community with timely, accurate and factual information to what is happening in their neighborhoods, directly from the source, we encourage you follow us on Twitter at @Sacpolice, Facebook, Nextdoor and the Department’s website at www.sacpd.org.