(Stop)lights, camera, action! Long Beach’s new Speed Safety System is up and running.
During a press conference Wednesday afternoon in downtown Long Beach, Mayor Rex Richardson, City Manager Tom Modica and Long Beach Public Works Director Joshua Hickman addressed the program’s goals and community concerns.
Speaking first, Mayor Rex Richardson noted that Wednesday marked National Walk & Roll to School Day, signifying the importance of providing safe streets for community members of all ages.
“This is a perfect moment to acknowledge that we’re taking an important step here in Long Beach toward safer streets with a clear goal: change dangerous driving behavior and help more people get to and from their destination safely,” he said.
Richardson cited Long Beach’s 53 fatal traffic crashes and an estimated 36,000 nationwide traffic deaths, both in 2025, as reasons for the program’s existence.
“Each [fatal crash] leaves behind people who loved them and a neighborhood that feels the impact and recognizes their absence,” Richardson said.
What is the Speed Safety System?
As part of a five-year pilot program, authorized via State Assembly Bill 645, Long Beach and five other California cities were approved to install speed-detection devices along streets to enforce safer driving practices.
Local camera locations were decided with the following criteria in mind:
- Streets designated as corridors with high traffic injury rates
- Streets with a documented history of street racing or speed exhibitions, with at least four incidents in the past two years
- School zones with restricted enforcement hours tied to school schedules
Administered by the Department of Public Works, Long Beach’s Speed Safety System includes 18 devices, plus two recently-approved cameras which will be installed on Pacific Coast Highway as soon as New Year’s Day. Hickman says 16 of the original 18 locations are fully functioning as of Wednesday, with the other two expected to go live in the next month.
During the 60-day warning period, from now through Dec. 7, drivers cited for going 11 mph or more over the posted speed limit by the speed cameras will receive a warning. On Dec. 7, the citation period will begin, with the following fine structure:
| MPH over the speed limit | Fines |
| 11-15 mph | $50 |
| 16-25 mph | $100 |
| 26+ mph | $200 |
| 100+ mph | $500 |
According to the City, if a driver doesn’t receive any warnings during the initial 60-day warning period, their first citation when driving 11 to 15 mph over the speed limit will be issued as a courtesy warning and not a fine.
Flock, Privacy and Other Concerns
During their remarks, Modica and Hickman aimed to answer various questions related to the Speed Safety System and dispel incorrect assumptions by “mythbusting.”
Modica explained that citation fees cannot go into the City’s general fund and must be used to cover the costs of the $1.6 million speed camera system, with any surplus revenue going towards neighborhood traffic-calming projects. He also denied any connection to the controversial Flock cameras, which have stirred nationwide debates and sparked criticism from local advocacy groups about privacy and AI surveillance.
“We also hear that this is somehow connected to Flock systems that you see in other areas of the country,” Modica said. “Long Beach does not have Flock contracts with those cameras.”
According to the City’s Speed Safety System FAQs, the system does not use video or facial recognition technology, and citation data will not be shared with the Long Beach Police Department or other law enforcement agencies.
Hickman’s outline of the system included the following points:
- The devices are only activated when a vehicle goes 11 mph or more over the speed limit. When activated, the device takes one photo of the rear license plate.
- When an incident/citation is issued, information will be deleted within 60-120 days, depending on when the case is closed.
- Photos taken that don’t show a violation will be deleted within five days.
- Every citation will come with a written policy and a way to contest, with a full hearing and appeal process.
- Drivers will receive no points on their driver’s license for warnings/citations.
Hickman said it’s not a “Flock-type” or “surveillance-type” system, and that it does not use an ALPR (automated license plate reader). He also reiterated that the City does not contract with Flock systems or access Flock data as part of the Speed Safety System program.
“Privacy is built in by policy,” Hickman said.
To learn more about the Speed Safety System, visit longbeach.gov/speedsafetysystem.
