INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Police Chief Chris Bailey said what's happening on the city's roadways calls for "bold action at all levels." In a recent opinion piece in the Indianapolis Star, Bailey advocated for the Indiana Legislature to allow the city to use red light and speed cameras. In other cities, the cameras have been put to use to watch out for drivers speeding and running red lights. The system can then mail a warning or ticket to drivers violating the laws. ”I would like to test these to see if we see some change in behavior," Bailey said. "And I think we can do that in our school zones. I think we can all agree that protecting our children should be at the top of our priority list." Bailey said IMPD has noticed a negative trend in driver behaviors since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. At the same time, Bailey said IMPD decreased traffic stops during the pandemic to try and limit contact between officers and citizens. Now, they're trying to increase traffic enforcement to limit those negative behaviors. "That's been my direction to division chiefs, is to get our cops back out there making more traffic stops," Bailey said. "Especially, in the areas where we get complaints or where we see crashes or fatalities or where our most vulnerable area, children, in our school zones." But, traffic enforcement has only gotten harder as IMPD has seen staffing numbers drop. ”We're a department that is 300 officers down," Bailey said. "I would love it to just say we can swarm our streets with more officers doing traffic enforcement, but that's just not going to happen anytime soon." That is one area Bailey said speed and red light cameras could help. ”We're not interested in being a big brother or big sister," Bailey said. "We're interested in slowing people down on our roadways, we're interested in having them pay attention to what they're doing." More cameras on the motoring public and what happens with that data is one of the chief concerns for people who have questions about red light and speed cameras. State Senator Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, said he wants IMPD to have every tool it needs to keep people safe. But, he wants to see data to show these cameras would actually work and wants to know what would happen with the information and video collected by them. "Who has the data, for how long, who can access it?" Freeman said. "I mean, every bit of that is a concern for me as it should be for every citizen of Indiana." Chief Bailey said IMPD would be fine with having no access to the data and he wants to insure that any cameras would only be used to make streets safer. ”The way we write the law, the way we can put in guardrails and guidelines that are clear about how the data can be used, when it can be used, how long it's stored, all these things are part of this process when we talk about our ability to implement these here in Indianapolis," Bailey said. Freeman said that what should be the chief priority is figuring out how to fill IMPD's 300-officer deficit. ”If policing is priority one, which it should be," Freeman said. "We got to fix that. If we fix that, then we wouldn't be talking about cameras." On the other hand, pedestrian and bicycle safety advocates at Bike Indianapolis said they're happy to see Chief Bailey's support of red light and speeding cameras. Bike Indianapolis spokesperson Tommy Kube said that technology is one element that could help decrease dangerous habits on Indy roads, something they feel has only increased since the pandemic. ”Fewer cars on the road led to people behaving more recklessly and that culture has really persisted since then," Kube said. The Indiana Department of Transportation is testing out speed cameras in a busy Hancock County construction zone. The pilot program started in mid-August and has been sending warnings to drivers going 11 mph or more in the zone. Early data shows drivers decreased speeds by an average of six MPH when signage was up and the cameras were present. Bailey hopes this will open the door to these cameras in the city. ”They [construction workers] absolutely deserve to be protected, but so do our children walking across the street in Irvington from their neighborhood to their elementary schools," Bailey said. "So, we would like to give it a shot in those areas to see if we can see some reductions." Bailey said he's not upset with the legislature, he just wants to advocate for another tool IMPD can use to make the city safer. ”I'm going to talk to some other people that I have relationships with on both sides of the aisle down at the other end of Market Street to see how I can be helpful, how I can sure my expertise, what I'm seeing to help guide their decisions," Bailey said. The new legislative session will begin in January.