Are red-light tickets inequitable in Wilmington?

An effort to study the enforcement of red-light camera ticketing in Wilmington was shot down last Thursday while a proposal to audit the city’s booting, parking and towing practices was adopted by Wilmington City Council. 

Both resolutions were sponsored by Councilmember Shané Darby in an effort to further examine the equity effects that the city’s red-light and parking enforcement may inflict on residents. The resolutions only punctuate years of contention between residents and city officials regarding parking enforcement practices in the city.  

The red-light bill called for a “conscientious” third-party assessment of the impact that red-light camera tickets have on the safety and equity of Wilmington residents. The resolution asked that the assessment be completed no later than the end of 2024. 

“This is really important because we know that a lot of people in our community have been impacted by red-light camera programs,” Darby said during the council meeting. 

The red-light proposal was voted down 11-2 with only Darby and council President Ernest “Trippi” Congo voting in favor. 

Wilmington’s Red-Light Camera Program

Wilmington’s red-light camera program began in 2001, with the intention of reducing intersection crashes, which lead to injuries or death, and to help in the redeployment of police officers. There are 46 red-light cameras at 40 intersections throughout the city.

The red-light program also raked in over $8 million in total net revenue in fiscal years 2021 and 2022, according to a 2022 Wilmington Traffic Light Signal Violation Monitoring System report. After expenses were deducted, the program was still left with a surplus of over $4.1 million during those two years. 

The intersection of West 4th and North Jackson streets had the most reported crashes in Fiscal Year 2022, followed by the intersection of 2nd and Adams streets — 29 and 26, respectively — per the report. They are also the intersections that have produced the most fines, with 2nd and Adams drawing 3,756 violations in FY 2022 and 4th and Jackson drawing 1,494 violations.

The two intersections are within eyesight of one another, as they’re only separated by a couple blocks of parking and basketball courts. The intersections also sit beneath the tangled roadways of Interstate 95 and at the entrance to Wilmington’s Hilltop neighborhood, a majority-Latino and Black community. 

n the resolution text, Darby compared the infrastructure and demographic profiles of the communities living near the accident-prone intersections to those in Chicago, where inequitable red-light ticketing patterns have been found. A 2022 ProPublica analysis found that red-light cameras disproportionately ticket Black and Latino drivers in Chicago. 

The investigation revealed that households in majority Black and Latino ZIP codes received tickets at roughly twice the rate of those in white areas between 2015 and 2019.

Similarly, Miami and Rochester, N.Y., have done away with their red-light camera programs due to equity concerns in enforcement. 

John Rago, deputy chief of staff for Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki, pointed to the 2022 Wilmington monitoring system report as what guides the placement of red-light cameras based on available accident information. The Fiscal Year 2023 report is expected to be released in the coming weeks. 

“The Council Member’s failed resolution implies that the City makes determinations about camera locations. It does not. This report guides us,” Rago said in a written statement. 

A 2023 University of Delaware report found that Wilmington collected fines and fees in an “inefficient and inequitable” manner. The burden of receiving parking and red-light tickets, alongside paying the related fines and fees, fell disproportionately on people of color, the report found. 

Fines and fees accounted for 4.4% of the city’s general revenue in 2022, per the report. 

The report was commissioned by the Wilmington Fines and Fees Justice Team and received funding from the Fines and Fees Justice Center national leadership network Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice, a national network of local communities striving for fines and fees reforms.

City officials largely dismissed the report when it was published last year, citing limitations to the survey. 

The parking enforcement resolution, also sponsored by Darby, asked for a comprehensive audit of the city’s parking tickets, towing and the booting practices by the end of the year. The resolution was adopted with a 11-2 vote in favor.

Still, the city is not planning on any additional audits of its parking enforcement program at this time, according to Rago. 

“There are already financial and operational audits of parking enforcement underway which are part of our normal program review schedule,” Rago added in a written statement. 

Got a red-light ticket? Here’s what to do. 

Traffic light signal violations in Wilmington are $110 and notices are sent directly to the vehicle’s registered owner. The maximum fine, including late payment penalties, is $140.

Red-light camera offenses are considered a civil offense and the infraction doesn’t affect a person’s insurance or driving record. 

If a violation is issued by a police officer, however, it’s considered a criminal offense and does affect insurance and driving records. Police-issued tickets are $198. 

How do I pay my red-light ticket? 

There are four ways to pay your ticket, either online or in person. 

• Parking and red-light camera tickets can be paid online at this link. 
• By phone at 302-571-4320, option #2.
• In person at the Customer Service Center on the first floor of the Louis L. Redding City/County Building, located at 800 N. French St. in Wilmington, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. 
• At the DMV payment kiosk located at 2230 Hessler Blvd. in New Castle, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays, and between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. 

How do I appeal my red-light ticket? 

Red-light violations can be appealed within 21 days of the ticket issuance date. The written appeal must be sent to the following address: 

City of Wilmington, P.O. Box 15404, Wilmington, DE, 19850-5404.

The appeal process is administered by the city’s Law Department and the city’s contractor, Conduent State and Local Solutions. Appeal instructions are listed on the back of each violation. 

The red-light appeals are heard by the Delaware Justice of the Peace Court #20. The registered owner will receive notification from the court of the date and time of the hearing.

If you have questions about your ticket, contact the Wilmington Automated Traffic Division, at 1-866-545-7441.

If you are found liable or plead responsible, a $35 court cost will be added to the amount of the ticket.