Citations may be down, but crashes are up.

In 2011, Sedona police wrote 23.8 percent fewer traffic tickets then they did in 2010, according to a recent report from the Sedona Police Department.

That decline continues in 2012, with the department currently writing 6 percent fewer tickets than they did in 2011. In 2010, police issued 2,485 citations, which doesn’t include warnings, repair orders or parking tickets. In 2011, police issued 1,893 citations.

While citations have declined, the number of accidents in the city has risen. According to the report, crashes increased in 2011 by 4.5 percent as compared to 2010. That percentage is expected to rise by another 4 percent at the end of 2012. In 2010, the department recorded 240 collisions compared to 251 collisions in 2011.

DUI arrests also declined by 20 percent in 2011 when compared to 2010, but they are expected to rise by 20 percent at the end of 2012, the report indicated.

Non-fine citations account for 42 percent of the department’s total citations issued.

Figures on traffic-related incidents are recorded into an automated records management system, Sedona Police Department Police Chief Ray Cota said.

“Based on reports that can be generated from the system it is simple to see a decline in 2011 as compared to 2010,” Cota said.

For the full story, see the Friday, Oct. 19, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.