We’ll have some big coverage on the proposed traffic surveillance cameras on Thursday. In the meantime…
The council is debating a few items related to the cameras, including a home rule petition and an order asking the police chief to look at funding and pricing… Essentially, the plan is to put cameras up at high traffic areas that will take a snapshot of the license plate of red light violations; those pictures will be checked by a cop who will issue citations; citations will be sent out by mail.
“Raises troubling due process [problems],” says ACLU’s Ronal Madnick. He’s also talking about “information creep,” where information gathered for once purpose,ends up being used for another.
Councilor Joe Petty is the main proponent here: He’s saying that a number of the concerns that were raised over the past year have been addressed in committee. Also, in response to claims this is for revenue gains (State Rep. Vincent Pedone), Petty says this is “purely for public safety.”
“This is similar to a traffic ticket,” Petty says. In other words, the ticket goes to the car owner, not the driver.
8:50
