acceptance of traffic cameras

From http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12820935&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532238&rfi=6

Cameras trample civil liberties?
By HEATHER L. NICHOLSON , Citizen reporter 09/02/2004
City officials across the nation endorse traffic camera systems and maintain that photographic electronic ticket writers have made a difference in public safety.

Pasadena leaders are currently considering this eye-in-the-sky-type of digital law enforcement, and some local reactions are that the city is harming more than helping by increasing revenues through the municipal court system at the expense of public privacy.

The purchasing of traffic cameras is still in its infancy, but a handful of companies have this month submitted proposals to the city to outfit 10 to 15 of Pasadena's most dangerous intersections with digital cameras.

The cameras are designed to photograph drivers who run red lights, make illegal turns and in some cases, speed through an intersection. Once a violation is recorded, an e-ticket is mailed to the registered car owner or the violating driver, depending on which vendor the city chooses.

Opponents of the intersection cameras argue that instead of sacrificing the public's civil liberties and rights to privacy the city should simply put more police officers on the street. Hawaii went through a similar debate this year after the state abandoned a failed traffic camera system after only three months, but then proposed a revival after several high-profile traffic accidents.

"The idea of taking a photograph of people driving in their car goes against what a lot of people believe about civil liberties. That's the overriding principal involved that makes it difficult to deal with," said Honolulu City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, as reported in the "Honolulu Advertiser."

Hawaii, like many other states, has adopted provisions in transportation laws to allow individual cities and counties to use traffic cameras at their own discretion. Texas State Legislature, however, has voted down such a proposal twice.

Public concerns about "Big Brother" conspiracy theories are not a new challenge for traffic camera manufacturers. Redflex Traffic Systems is one of several companies vying for Pasadena's intersections. Mark Etzbach of Redflex said conspiracy theorists aren't focusing on the bigger picture.

"The 'Big Brother' theory doesn't hold a lot of weight because if you're on a public thoroughfare you're already giving up privacy," Etzbach said. "How many times does a person go to an ATM or a 7-Eleven? People are constantly being monitored."

Redflex has more than 300 digital systems currently in operation in 11 states and 50 cities. The company uses digital still images and video to capture traffic violations and stores the data for a period of time. Etzbach said it is up to the individual city to decide how long to keep the data.

For example, California law requires traffic images and driver identifications be permanently deleted after 12 months.

An incident in Tuscaloosa, Ala., last year fueled the debate on intersection cameras violating public privacy. A remote-control camera located at an intersection usually recording traffic instead filmed several female pedestrians. Officials with the Alabama state trooper's office is investigating complaints that unknown people in their division diverted the camera from traffic to focus on women in the pre-dawn hours carousing near a row of nightclubs.

The footage was broadcast citywide on a cable television channel and showed the camera zoom in on the breasts and buttocks of young women. Since the incident, the city has disabled police officers' control of the cameras.

However, the type of camera system Pasadena plans to buy would be fixed on the intersection and not be manned by remote control. Etzbach said cities using Redflex products boast impressive accident reduction statistics, such as Scottsdale, Ariz., in which accidents lowered by 177 in one year.

Bruce Kalin, police contract administrator for the Scottsdale Police Department, said he believes intersection cameras save lives.

"We believe our strategy is working. Accident rates are declining even as the population increases," he said. "(Cameras) have proved to work efficiently all over the world."

Scottsdale currently has six Redflex camera systems at intersections with the largest collision rate and high traffic volume. The city first installed wet film cameras in 1997 and has steadily improved the technology through the years.

"Public opinion and acceptance is high and steadily improving," Kalin said, referencing a 2003 survey given to Scottsdale residents that revealed 77 percent support the camera systems and 73 percent favor future expansion.

The Scottsdale Police Department has lessened its manpower on monitoring red light runners and writing tickets. Instead, officers spend more time patrolling streets and responding to calls for service.

"(Opponents') argument is not technological because the evidence (produced by traffic cameras) is conclusive," said Etzbach. "Cameras open up the police to better utilize their time. It's not 'Big Brother,' it's not a conspiracy. We're just trying to save lives."