Traffic enforcement, court revenue down in St. Louis County

ST. LOUIS -- State court data show St. Louis County police departments are backing off traffic enforcement, and municipal court revenue has dropped considerably.

The data analyzed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch show traffic cases in the county's 81 municipal courts fell 39 percent in the first seven months of 2015 from the same period last year. Money collected was down 38 percent.

According to the data, one of the biggest drops was in Ferguson, where traffic cases filed in municipal court are down 81 percent, and court revenue has dropped 58 percent. A U.S. Department of Justice report on Ferguson released in March found bias in policing and a profit-driven municipal court system.

The investigation followed concerns raised during unrest following the 2014 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white Ferguson police officer.