Due to limited resources many states use speed enforcement cameras—also known as photo or video enforcement—to take a digital photograph or video of a vehicle (and its license plate) that violates the speed limit. The use of speed enforcement cameras to issue speeding tickets or citations (mailed to the driver) has been controversial, with claims that it violates Constitutional rights.

Laws vary from state to state and in some states speed enforcement cameras are a permitted enforcement tool; in some states they are prohibited; and in some states they are prohibited unless permitted by a local ordinance (city or town).

To measure the speed of a moving vehicle and issue speeding tickets by photo enforcement, police departments generally use photo or video radar that relies on radio signals and the Doppler Effect or photo and video LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology that relies on lasers rather than radio waves. These devices require training on their proper use and regular calibration to be accurate.

In the state of Kansas, the use of speed enforcement cameras is not permitted. Kansas law specifically prohibits the use of any traffic enforcement camera systems for issuing traffic citations. This includes both red-light cameras and speed cameras. The relevant statute, K.S.A. 8-210, explicitly states that no traffic citation can be issued based solely upon photographic evidence that does not involve the direct observation of a violation by a law enforcement officer. Therefore, all speeding tickets in Kansas must be issued by an officer who has directly observed the violation, and the use of automated photo radar or LIDAR technology to issue citations by mail is not allowed under current Kansas law.