The Johnston Brief
If you got flashed at an intersection, or you're just wondering whether that camera on a pole is about to mail you a ticket, here's the straight answer for Johnston - plus how it fits Iowa's newer traffic-camera law, and why Johnston's Flock cameras are a different animal entirely.
No - Johnston does not use speed cameras or red-light cameras. Johnston isn't among the Iowa DOT's approved automated-enforcement cities, and there's no public record of it running automated traffic cameras. Enforcement here is done by officers. (Des Moines does use speed cameras - that's usually the source of a metro camera ticket.) Johnston does run Flock license-plate cameras, but those don't measure speed or issue tickets.
The Johnston Police Department does not operate automated speed or red-light enforcement cameras. When the Iowa DOT reviewed cities' requests to run automated traffic enforcement under the state's 2024 law, Johnston was not among the approved jurisdictions, and there's no public record of the city mailing camera-based traffic tickets. Enforcement in Johnston is handled by officers in person. If a camera in Johnston is watching the road, it's a Flock license-plate reader used for investigations, not a device that clocks your speed.
It almost certainly came from Des Moines, which operates fixed and mobile speed cameras. Check the return address and issuing city on the citation - Johnston doesn't send automated traffic tickets.
Automated traffic enforcement used to be a patchwork across Iowa. That changed with House File 2681, signed in 2024 and effective July 1, 2024. The law requires any city that wants speed cameras on its roads to get a permit from the Iowa DOT, and it tightened how the systems can be used. Two key limits: automated systems can enforce speeding only (not red lights), and they can't issue a ticket unless a driver is more than 10 mph over the limit.
Johnston wasn't among the cities that put automated speed cameras into service. For red-light cameras specifically, Iowa has no dedicated statute and its framework only allows automated speed enforcement - and Johnston operates none either way.
They look similar on a pole but do completely different jobs. We break down Johnston's license-plate cameras - what they capture, how long the data's kept, and the privacy debate - in the full Flock cameras guide.
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No. Johnston does not appear among the Iowa DOT's approved automated-traffic-enforcement locations, and there is no public record of the Johnston Police Department operating automated speed cameras. Traffic enforcement in Johnston is done by officers, not by automated camera systems. This is different from Des Moines, which does operate speed cameras.
No. Johnston does not operate red-light cameras. Under Iowa's framework, automated enforcement is limited to speed, and Iowa has no dedicated red-light-camera statute. If you receive an automated traffic ticket in the metro, it is from another city's system, most commonly Des Moines, not from Johnston.
No, they are different systems. Johnston does use Flock automated license plate readers (ALPRs), which log passing plates for investigations, but those do not measure speed and do not issue tickets. Speed and red-light cameras are automated traffic-enforcement devices that Johnston does not use.
A 2024 Iowa law (HF 2681, effective July 1, 2024) requires cities to get Iowa DOT approval for automated traffic enforcement and limits how the systems can be used. The DOT reviewed 348 requested camera locations from 28 jurisdictions and approved roughly 154. Automated systems can only enforce speeding, not red lights, and cannot issue a ticket unless a driver is more than 10 mph over the limit. Johnston was not among the approved cities.
With officers. The Johnston Police Department handles traffic enforcement in person, running targeted enforcement and responding to neighborhood traffic complaints, rather than mailing automated camera tickets.
Flock cameras in Johnston · Public transit · Road work & construction