Survey shows two-thirds of Victoria, Australia police believe speed cameras are installed only for profit.

A landmark survey of 3459 police officers in Victoria, Australia today exposed a disturbing shift in law enforcement priorities. A total of 42 percent of the police surveyed by the Herald Sun newspaper believed their primary mission has become revenue generation.

The shift is seen even more clearly in the attitude of police toward speed cameras. A mere six percent believed the government’s assertion that the purpose of photo enforcement was to reduce traffic fatalities. More than 70 percent of respondents insisted profit, not safety, was the true motivation. The state earned A$147 million with 671,063 mobile speed camera fines in the last fiscal year.

A spokesman for the chief commissioner dismissed the revenue raising claims by pointing to a government report that showed significant reductions in the number of accidents and injuries where speed cameras are used. In the Herald Sun survey, front line officers criticized high-ranking police officials for manipulating certain types of statistics to achieve a public perception of success.

“Everyone knows that the current crime figures are incorrect and tweaked by command to ensure the force looks good,” one officer wrote.

In 2006, the British Medical Journal compared hospital admission records to UK police statistics to conclude the police were underreporting the number of serious injuries from traffic accidents. Experts suggested that police officers were being coerced to do this to create the appearance that speed cameras were responsible for a reduction in serious injuries. The Herald Sun survey showed officers in Victoria were told to implement similar practices with respect to major crimes in Victoria.

“They tell us not to report certain crimes as what they actually are instead telling us to report them as lesser crime, so it shows the stats for serious crime are down,” another officer wrote.

Source: (Herald Sun (Australia), 4/11/2008)

Toronto to boost annual red light camera revenue to $32.7 million by raising red light camera fines to $500.

A Toronto, Canada city committee yesterday approved a proposal that would create North America’s most expensive red light camera ticket. The city’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee voted to boost the existing $180 fine to $500 CAD (US $492), far above California’s record $420 fine limit. Councillor Michael Thompson first proposed the fine hike last year saying it was necessary to increase safety.

But the city also approved plans to expand the number of cameras operating from 20 to 98 by 2009, generating 65,300 in annual fines. If fines were kept at $180 per ticket, the city would generate $11.8 million in annual revenue but end up with a net loss after paying private companies to operate the safety program, according to Gary Welsh, Toronto’s General Manager of Transportation Services. By 2012, Welsh estimated the loss at $2,497,900 per year in a memo to the committee.

The plan to expand the number of monitored intersections within a short period is the primary cause of the potential revenue loss. Toronto had already paid for the cameras used by ACS to ticket motorists since 2000. For that reason, the city will only pay the Dallas company $3,774,400 to issue tickets on Toronto’s behalf until 2012. German company Traffipax, however, must charge $15,137,900 to supply and operate new cameras through 2012.

By raising fines to $500, the city is expected to bring in $32.7 million in annual revenue and a total of $100 million worth of tickets by 2012, guaranteeing a significant net profit. The city also is looking at the possibility of suspending vehicle registrations for vehicles accused of “multiple” red light camera violations and publishing the license plate numbers of anyone accused by a camera. If approved by the full city council, the Ontario Minister of Transportation would review and implement the new penalties.

Illinois currently has the most expensive photo enforcement ticket with a $1000 fine and mandatory license suspension imposed for a second speeding accusation. Last year, the state issued 6500 automated speeding tickets on the freeway to generate a minimum of $2.4 million in revenue.

A full copy of the Toronto City Council memo is available in a 70k PDF file at the source link below.

Source: (City of Toronto, Canada, 4/10/2008)

Whether you speed intentionally or not, following these tips will help you avoid a traffic stop.

• DO stay alert. Look as far ahead as you can, and check your mirrors. This is not only a good way to spot speed traps early, it is also good practice in safe driving.
• DON’T exceed the speed limit by too much when you are the only car on the road — especially at night when traffic is light, and cops are hard to spot. If you are caught speeding, there is no one else you can blame.
• DO find a speeding companion — a rabbit. When you are travelling on a highway, there will be some jerk who just loves to show that he is the fastest on the road. It is a good opportunity to use him as a victim. Follow him at a safe distance. If a hidden speed trap is ahead, he will be busted first. However, watching your tail will become your responsibility.
• DON’T stand out from the crowd. If you drive significantly faster than prevailing traffic and keep weaving from left to right, you are asking for a ticket.
• DO look out when you go under an overpass, go by bushes etc. Cops like to hide behind those kinds of things. Ask yourself, “If I were a cop, where would I hide?”
• DON’T assume that cop cars are marked and have light bars on the roof. Many cop cars don’t have lights on the roof; they are on the front grille. Some of them are unmarked, plain looking altogether.
• DO pay special attention to the cars that come up on you from behind at night. Slow down, identify the potential threat. Memorize the headlight patterns of the common cop cars in your area.
• DON’T ignore cars that are parked on the shoulder. Oftentimes, there will be a cop running a radar gun on the shoulder of the road, then another cop ahead to pull over violators. Don’t assume it is just an unfortunate motorist whose car suffered a break down. It might have a cop inside holding a radar gun.
• DO watch out for sudden changes in speed limits, especially when you are travelling out-of-state. Slam on the brakes if you need to. When the area is not familiar to you, you don’t know where the speed traps are. If you are caught speeding out-of-state, it will be very hard to fight a ticket unless you visit that place on a regular basis. Remember, cops love to pull over motorists with out-of-state plates, as they know it is very unlikely the ticket will be contested.
• DO get a decent radar detector (be aware, they’re illegal in Virginia and Washington). Even drivers who don’t intentionally speed will benefit from the advance warning of trouble ahead. We’ve all been a little heavy on the foot at times, sometimes without even realizing it. An advance warning, if even a short one, may allow you to slow down in time to avoid a ticket.

See the next post to learn what to do if you ARE pulled over by a cop. If you plan on contesting a ticket, your ‘plan of action’ starts the moment you are stopped.

If you want to win in traffic court, your strategy begins the minute you are stopped. So put your ego in your pocket.

This is some advice from a Florida lawyer about traffic tickets. Most of this article applies to those in all states; but, a few things are Florida specific. Still good reading, though.

Rule No. 1:

Be polite. What do you have to lose by not being courteous? Let me count the ways: First, you will certainly get that ticket. Second, the police officer just might start searching for other tickets he/she can issue. I’ve had clients who received up to 10 tickets in one stop.

Things not to say to the police officer: “I’ll see you in court,” “My lawyer will see you in court,” or “Shouldn’t you be spending your time chasing real criminals?”
In traffic court, every judge is going to ask the police officer, “How did this person treat you on the side of the road?” Oops. Judges and police officers know one another. You are the outsider.

If you requested a hearing hoping the officer does not appear in court, and the officer does not appear, you got lucky. If the officer does appear, and you were not nice, the judge is not going to be nice to you.

If you think the officer was wrong and you have a good case, save your arguments for court. Do not try your case on the side of the road. At roadside, the officer is in control. If you don’t believe that, you may end up in jail.

By the way, sign the ticket. This is not an admission of guilt. This merely shows you received the ticket. Refusing to sign the ticket is a crime and an excuse for the officer to cart you to jail if you have been rude.

Rule No. 2

If you want to beat a speeding ticket, hire a lawyer. Florida law creates a presumption that the officer’s speed measuring device is accurate. Once the officer gets the reading into evidence, you have lost. The fight is in keeping the speed measuring device information out of evidence.

Things not to say in court: “My car just can’t go that fast;” “There was a car next to mine; the officer couldn’t have known which one he clocked;” ” I saw the officer behind me, so why would I have been speeding?” and “The officer didn’t show me his radar.”

You will be wasting the judge’s time, and this may be reflected in your sentence. Also, any speeding ticket you receive that’s 14 mph over the speed limit can be used by your insurance company to raise your rates even if you get no points. A lawyer may be able to get your ticket amended to a lower speed.

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State police embrace electronic ticket system

Many motorists know the age-old speeding ticket routine – get pulled over, wait at least 10 minutes for an officer to write a barely legible citation and hope to remember to mail a check within 15 days.

But fumbling with carbon copies and postage stamps might soon be a thing of the past. By the end of the month, the Maryland State Police, which issues a third of all speeding tickets issued in the state, plans to deploy an electronic citation system, and law enforcement agencies in almost 30 other jurisdictions have expressed interest in doing the same, police and court officials say.

The agencies are following the lead of New Carrollton, whose police department in December became the first agency in Maryland to become certified by the District Court to issue e- citations. The state police – which issues almost 500,000 of the state’s 1.5 million traffic tickets a year – received certification Wednesday, said Roberta Warnken, assistant chief clerk of the District Court.

Police and court officials say the electronic system is more accurate and efficient, and decreases the time officers spend on traffic stops, which can be time-consuming and dangerous. Advocates dismiss concerns that the new system will lead to police issuing more tickets, saying agencies can instead free officers for more productive functions.

“If we’re not taking the time to write citations, we can be more proactive and prevent why we’re giving citations out in the first place,” said Cpl. Chris Corea of the state police, who developed the agency’s software.

Maryland is catching up with much of the country. In 2003, almost 30 states had an e-citation program or had begun implementing one, according to a federal assessment.

In May, Gov. Martin O’Malley signed a bill authorizing electronic citations and removing the requirement for a violator’s signature to acknowledge receipt of a ticket. The law requires a standard form for e-citations throughout the state and certification of software programs by the District Court.

One hurdle has been cost. Local agencies keep none of the $90 million a year the state collects in traffic revenue, and instead must rely on departmental funds or grant money to make the move to e-citations. The cost of equipping a state police cruiser is about $1,000, Corea said.

“The first thing that everybody said is, ‘Who’s going to pay for it?’” said Sgt. Richard Hartnett of the New Carrollton Police Department.

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