The disclosure came as City Controller Wendy Greuel issued an audit finding the photo enforcement program bypassed some of the city's most dangerous intersections and is costing the city more than $1 million a year to operate, despite fines and fees that can exceed $500.
LAPD officials said they learned during the audit that the state Department of Motor Vehicles has not been forcing payment of delinquent red-light camera fines during license and registration renewals. Other types of unpaid citations typically must be paid before renewals are granted, noted Police Chief Charlie Beck, who appeared with Greuel at a news conference under a downtown red-light camera.
It was not immediately clear why red-light camera tickets would be treated differently, although one LAPD official noted motorists do not sign promises to appear in court when photo citations are issued. A DMV spokesman said he had to check into the matter.
Currently, the city has issued about 56,000 red-light camera tickets that are unpaid. About one-third of traffic tickets overall are unpaid, Beck said. Beck said his department is working with the courts and the DMV to correct the red-light camera glitch as part of a broader push to improve the program's cost efficiency and safety benefits.
Among other changes, Beck and Greuel said the city, which is planning to expand the program beginning next year, should focus camera enforcement on the most dangerous intersections in the city. Both noted that the current placement of cameras at 32 intersections was driven partly by politics and a desire to have at least one red-light camera in each of the city's 15 council districts.
“We should deploy them like any other officer” based on public safety needs, Beck said.
The audit also found that the LAPD had not developed data that conclusively shows the cameras have improved public safety. It noted that half of the intersections equipped with cameras showed no reductions in accidents in one study. Beck agreed better analysis is needed, but strongly defended the program, saying it has cut fatalities at the targeted intersections.
There have been no traffic deaths at the intersections since cameras were installed, he said. Based on previous trends, “we would have had 10 fatalities,” he added. “This is why we were interested in red-light cameras in the first place.”
Beck stressed that the program is not intended to make money. But he and other officials hope to improve the program's financial footing when a new contract to operate the cameras is issued next year.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's another article:
City Controller Releases Audit of City's Photo Red Light Camera Program
from LAPD
September 30, 2010
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Cameras Meant to Reduce Accidents Have Not Been Placed at Most Dangerous Intersections
City Controller Wendy Greuel was joined by LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and City Councilmember Dennis Zine to release an audit of the effectiveness of the City's Photo Red Light Program (PRLP). The City currently has 32 cameras installed at intersections throughout Los Angeles, which as intended to reduce traffic accidents by catching drivers who break the law running red lights.
However, the audit found the red light cameras have not been installed at the City's most dangerous 32 intersections. There were numerous reasons for this, including placing at least one red light camera in each of the Council Districts, weak infrastructure at some locations and not wanted to conduct the additional analyses required for State controlled-intersections.
“If public safety is the number one priority of the Photo Red Light Program then the most dangerous intersections should be selected, period,” said City Controller Greuel. “Regardless of the reasons, the cameras are only effective if they are placed at the most dangerous intersections. If we don't use them effectively we are putting Angelenos lives in danger.”
While there have been no fatalities at monitored intersections since the current contract was implemented in 2006, the audit found the PRLP cannot document conclusively an increase in public safety and a more comprehensive approach to evaluating the PRLP is needed. There was only a reduction in traffic accidents at 50% of the intersections with red light cameras for the six months after a camera was installed when compared with the six months before it was installed.
“I believe any program that can prevent accidents and prevent even one fatality from occurring is worthwhile,” Controller Greuel said. “However, we must be transparent about the cost to the City during these dire economic times.”
In addition the City has expended $2.6 million to operate the red light camera program over the past two years. However, having these cameras allows police officers to help fight crime in other parts of the City. If the cameras were not installed it would require more than 100 motor officers with salaries in excess of $10 million dollars to monitor the 32 PRLP intersections. |
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