WCCO: Lakeville Issued 1,200 Speeding Tickets in 2011

Lakeville police wrote about one speeding ticket for every 50 residents in 2011, according to a report on WCCO-TV.

That year, Lakeville police wrote 1,203 tickets for excessive speed. With a population of 56,443, Lakeville ranked 48th in number of speeding tickets per capita out of the 85 municipalities included in the WCCO report.

Nearby police departments ranked both higher and lower: Apple Valley (22), Mendota Heights (24), Rosemount (26), Savage (41), Lakeville (48), Shakopee (49), Burnsville (50), Prior Lake (56) Inver Grove Heights (62), Farmington (66), Eagan (70).

According to the WCCO-TV report, speeding tickets aren't a money-maker for local police departments, even in No. 1-ranked Edina: 

Go over the posted speed and it’s up to each department to decide what to do. There are no state standards and police departments don’t set quotas. That’s illegal in Minnesota. When departments do issue tickets, those cities don’t make much money, only about $10 to $20. Most of the money goes to the state and county.

“It’s a loser money-wise. If I could get rid of it I would but I can’t,” Edina Police Chief Jeff Long said.

See the full WCCO-TV report at minnesota.cbslocal.com. There you can also download the full database. 

Map Legend
    Green pins: 0 to 500 tickets
    Yellow pins: 500 to 1,500 tickets
    Red pins: 1,500 or more tickets

Police departments that cover multiple cities have a pin in each of the cities they cover. Sheriff’s offices, state patrol, park police, University of Minnesota police and airport police are not shown.