THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 11, 1995 TAG: 9512090021
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
The Virginia Beach Police Department's proposal to install automated spy cameras at selected intersections is a bad idea for which the time should never come.
The use of these cameras is being presented as a way to prevent accidents caused by inattentive motorists who run red lights. The cameras would work only if the possibility of being watched promotes motorists' best driving habits.
It is more likely to promote the creepy feeling of being spied upon. The result likely would not be greater attention to traffic lights but accidents caused by those looking around for the Police Department's latest toy.
The real purpose of these spy-camera installations is revenue generation. The proof of this is that while the ``problem'' of red-light running is so serious as to ``require'' those expensive cameras, it is handled by localities trying out these systems as a civil offense, not a traffic offense that adds demerit points to one's driving record.
This ``no points'' handling of the offense may also be a way to lessen public resistance to and criticism of a system of revenue collection that denies the accused the constitutional right to confront an accuser. Cameras are difficult to cross-examine in court.
The Police Department seems unwilling to answer questions as to how much this new spy equipment would cost. The best question is: How much safer would the public be if the money was spent on police who might solve or prevent real crime?
T. L. ALBERTSON
Suffolk, Nov. 30, 1995 by CNB