Police chief denounces 'cowardly' iPhone users monitoring speed traps [DC angry about lost $]

Washington Examiner ^

[RatherBiased.com]

Area drivers looking to outwit police speed traps and traffic cameras are using an iPhone application and other global positioning system devices that pinpoint the location of the cameras.

That has irked D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier, who promised her officers would pick up their game to counteract the devices, which can also help drivers dodge sobriety checkpoints.

"I think that's the whole point of this program," she told The Examiner. "It's designed to circumvent law enforcement -- law enforcement that is designed specifically to save lives."

The new technology streams to i-Phones and global positioning system devices, sounding off an alarm as drivers approach speed or red-light cameras.

Lanier said the technology is a "cowardly tactic" and "people who overly rely on those and break the law anyway are going to get caught" in one way or another.

The greater D.C. area has 290 red-light and speed cameras -- comprising nearly 10 percent of all traffic cameras in the U.S., according to estimates by a camera-tracking database called the POI Factory.

[kenmcg]

BA WA WA!!!

[a fool in paradise]

"I think that's the whole point of this program," she told The Examiner. "It's designed to circumvent law enforcement -- law enforcement that is designed specifically to save lives."

Translation, drivers are slowing down and we aren't getting any money.

If it is designed to get drivers to slow down "to save lives" then it is working, no?

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

"It's designed to circumvent law enforcement -- law enforcement that is designed specifically to save lives generate easy revenue without having to do much."

There, fixed it for him.

[tarator]

How long before the government smartens up and saturates those colaborative systems with fake data?

[a fool in paradise]

You’d think they’d have their hands full juat monitoring Marior Barry (who was just arrested for stalking a woman).

[FourtySeven]

App for iPhone and other Smartphones: http://www.trapster.com/

[a fool in paradise]

Gotta be a Democrat.

[Kakaze]

Lanier said the technology is a "cowardly tactic" and "people who overly rely on those and break the law anyway are going to get caught" in one way or another

Ahh Freedom

Hmm I would ask chief kathy, if she believes technology is cowardly, why does she use it to cite and arrest others?

[FourtySeven]

I suppose that could happen but apps like the one I linked to in the previous post apparently have the ability to correct for false information via reports others can submit.

I suppose maybe the “law enforcement” could submit false “false reports” too, but I don’t think they could give such false information to such a degree that it would have a serious impact on the data.

I think they’d have to get a whole task force of people (or computers) to constantly offset all the true reports, which seems like it would be cost prohibitive.

[Myrddin]

So the English and Welsh still have some spine to stand up against totalitarian government. Excellent. BTW, a friend extolled the virtues of "Imron" paint for aircraft surfaces. It is said to be almost bulletproof and forms a lovely high gloss finish.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

What a great link! I just sent it to all the cops I know. They’ll laugh their butts off!

[dfwgator]

"It's designed to circumvent law enforcement -- law enforcement that is designed specifically to save lives."

Well, don't people slow down when they know there is radar? Seems to me like it does save lives.

[papasmurf]

I would buy one, except they’re tied to AT&T. I’ll wait and see how the anti-monopoly suit comes out.

[Kieri]

If DC has that many cameras, drivers are going to get sick of the alarm going off all the time.

[night reader]

Just wait until someone figures out how to connect an iPhone to a radar detector. Call it Bear Tweets or some such.

Now there’s a million dollar idea right there...

If you can think of it, they can make it!

[jakerobins]

Smart Well Informed Citizens who use technology to circumvent the Gov’ts rules are always a threat.....

[Charles Martel]

How long before the government smartens up and saturates those colaborative systems with fake data?

I suppose they could, but that sounds like a lot of actual *work*. Besides, the websites could solicit feedback on false or inactive threat locations, and thereby zap members who are believed to be providing false data. The fact that iPhones are involved makes this a very interactive system.

[DieHard the Hunter]

That’s a great site! Thanks — I’ve just spent an interesting half hour or so going thru their impressive collection of vandalized GATSOs.

It probably doesn’t do to speculate too closely on how the webpage owner obtained such an encyclopedic knowledge of GATSO damage across the UK.

I was satisfied to note that from the Land of Robin Hood the concept of true public service remains alive and well.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Signs should be posted advising motorists that they are approaching a speed camera. Most will slow down. Drivers that don’t slow down deserve the ticket.

[r9etb]

LOL! Apparently he is complaining about the fact that people won't speed or run red lights when they're warned about the presence of enforcement in certain locations. Seems to me that it's fulfilling the "safety" criterion very nicely -- the iPhone add-on is actually enhancing the effectiveness of their enforcement.

Indeed, if the DC Police Chief were more clever, he would be helping the iPhone folks to identify the likely locations.

But, of course, there are those pesky management and budget metrics, which are what he (as a manager) also has to worry about....