Posted on 08/01/2005 10:00:38 AM PDT by BurbankKarl
Some nights as Chuck Kesterson watches TV, it seems like there's a neon sign flashing "Eat at Joe's" outside his second-story apartment window.
But he doesn't get irritated, he smiles only because he knows the flashing is just the newest member of the Gardena Police Department doing its job.
Just a few feet from his backyard fence sits a 15-foot-high camera that takes a picture and a video every time a driver blows through a red light at Rosecrans and Budlong avenues.
"You used to hear cars gun their engines and trucks honk their horns to let people know they were going to run the light," said the 59-year-old salesman.
Now drivers who might have run the light before slow down or screech to a stop -- or say hello to the candid camera.
A red-light camera issued the first $351 ticket in Gardena on March 11 and, while officials say money has nothing to do with the primary purpose of the system, the city banked about $450,000 in the first four months of operation. Over the next year, the tally should hit $800,000, according to the city's budget.
"I'm more interested in seeing the number of accidents and fatalities that have been eliminated because people are more mindful of not running red lights," Councilman Ron Ikejiri said. "Revenue is secondary."
That may be true. But the money is sorely needed in this city, which is barely making ends meet with a $35 million general fund while facing a $26 million bill for a debt that's due Aug. 31.
Under the city's contract with Redflex Traffic Systems, the equipment will cost the city about $6,000 per month. Redflex also contracts locally with Hawthorne, Inglewood and Culver City, for now the only other South Bay cities with these systems.
It's too early to tell if the lights have had an effect on accident rates. But about 33 percent of traffic fatalities in Gardena resulted from red-light violations in previous years. And according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, photo enforcement programs have reduced red-light violations by about 40 percent and reduced injury crashes by about 25 percent.
The city now has five intersections covered, each one coming online about a month after the other.
About 2,144 tickets have been mailed.
In the same period, Gardena officers wrote a total of 450 citations, for everything from broken tail lights to red-light violations.
The sixth and last red-light camera was activated July 20 and after a 30-day grace period will start issuing tickets Aug. 19.
The system is activated when a vehicle trips sensors in the road about 8 feet before the intersection begins.
And the cameras are activated if the car is going too fast to stop for the red light, said police assistant Yecenia Correa, who reviews the videos and photos before tickets are sent to violators.
A camera will record video for about six seconds, in addition to taking photos.
"If you're in the crosswalk, we'll reject it," Correa said.
Already 25 percent of the photo tickets are rejected, said Sgt. Thomas Kang, the program's supervisor. He said the city's policy is to give citizens the benefit of the doubt.
Redflex downloads to Gardena police computers the video and four photos that show the driver's face, the vehicle license plate, the position of the vehicle and the color of the light. Images will be accessible online at the Police Department for alleged violators to review.
"This is a great deterrent and it frees us up to do other things," said motorcycle officer Victor Gomez, who works with the program.
While some see the cameras as obtrusive and worry about Big Brother's expanding presence, Kesterson is ready to take the next step. He wants the cameras to catch speeders.
They already have that capability, Kang said. "As soon as they allow it in California," Kang said, "we will work to use them here."
it would be wrong to take a cotton ball with some vasaline on it and coat the lens of that camera. You can't do that to a cop now can you.
I dont know where you live, but cops are making over $100k a year with all their benefits here
Well that confirms it for me.....Congress IS low society!!
: )
Lets see, LAPD (with a BA) starts at 53k a year, a raise if you finish the academy
12 paid sick days per year, 5-22 vacation days a year (so, a paid more than a month off)
Health care is probably another 10K a year, since the City of LA has 0 deductible.....then retirement bennies...not including OT
"This thing costs $6,000 a month? That's $72,000 a year, why not just hire more cops?"
the city banked about $450,000 in the first four months of operation. Over the next year, the tally should hit $800,000, according to the city's budget.
That should answer your question!
Can't say I blame them. No way would I sign up to be a cop in todays world. I happen to know a few that are still working. They hate and regret it, and would never do it over again.
Doesn't matter where I live, or what cops are paid here or there.
What does matter is cost per citation on the one hand; and whether you are only interested in single-violation enforcement at a single point on the other.
As I said, a cop can only cite one out of X violators, where the camera can cite X out of X in one location, so the cop is much less efficient and horridly cost-inefficient IF the only consideration is those cites in that location.
If overall law enforcement, and getting violators off the street is the higher priority, then the camera can't replace the cop.
I have no idea what the actual numbers are, but I seem to always be reading where the unlicnesed/suspended/revoked are being arrested after being stopped for minor infractions. So are drivers with outstanding warrents. The camera can't do that.
As a supplement to free up a cop for other duty; or for revenue enhancement, the cameras are great.
Before they do that they'll put a monitor on your car and when you violate the law in some way it will just print the ticket out on your dashboard. When you don't pay them promptly they'll send the robot.
Okay....so it's the secondary purpose. LOL!!!
Also, what about rich guys that have five cars? Why should they have to pay five premiums to insure five cars when they can only drive one at a time?
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