The new policy comes after a 9Wants to Know investigation that uncovered 458 unpaid tickets given to Denver Police officers who were not responding to emergencies.

Before the new policy, the Denver Police Department did not ask officers to pay for red-light and photo-speed citations. Instead, when a citation was issued, the Denver Police Department opened a disciplinary case with internal affairs. Tickets given to officers responding to emergency situations have been and will continue to be tossed out.

Special Operations Division Commander Patrick Phelan, who oversees Traffic Operations, said any disciplinary record, including red-light or photo-speed citations, can affect an officer's chances of being promoted.

Under the old policy, Denver Police allowed officers two warnings each year that went on their records. The first warning was oral and the second was written. When officers received a third citation, they were required to give up a full day's pay.

Under the new policy for, officers will not be disciplined for the first or second offense in a year. They will be given an oral reprimand for the third offense in a year, a written reprimand for the forth offense in a year and officers will be docked eight hours pay for the fifth offense in a year.

There were 378 officers who received one citation from 2009 to mid-2012, 71 received a second citation and nine received three or more.

Private drivers are given penalty assessment notices of $40 if their front tires are past the white line at an intersection with red-light cameras. The penalty assessment notice is $75 if the rear tires are past the white line.

A photo-speed citation costs $40 but jumps to $80 in a safety zone - which includes work zones and school zones.

The new policy requires Denver Police officers and all city employees overseen by the mayor's office to pay photo-speed and photo-red light tickets given while employees are driving city vehicles.

Until now, there was no uniform policy and some city agencies handled tickets differently. Some employees were never required to pay for tickets they received.

A total of 607 notices went unpaid citywide according to records from 2009 to mid-2012, released by the Denver Manager of Safety's Office and reviewed by 9Wants to Know.

(KUSA-TV copyright 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)