I believe that recent decisions by our council members have put our privacy rights and due process at risk. A contract with RedFlex Traffic Systems was agreed to by a 4-3 council vote one month ago. This contract would put up cameras at 5 intersections, 4 of which are on 518, with the option of adding up to 40 more.

They ignored a study that was conducted in Houston that showed an increase in the number of accidents at intersections with cameras, all while claiming publicly that this "Operation" was for public "safety". This operation seems to be motivated by increased revenue at the expense of public safety. Every news report I've seen on this contract, and even the official minutes of the city council meeting where it was approved, mention the “conservative” $500,000 increase in revenue. Based on the published contracts that RedFlex has with other cities, that $500,000 is no where near what we'll be paying for the privilege of being watched by a private, foreign-owned company.

According to The Citizen, Ms. Sanborn has said, “if you're not running red lights, you don't have to worry about getting tickets”. Actually you do, Ms. Sanborn. The tickets aren't sent to the drivers breaking the law, the tickets are sent to the person the vehicle is registered to. Instead of the government having to prove guilt, now citizens are forced to prove innocence.

And lets not forget about all the other cars at these intersections. They'll all be on camera, too, even though they were innocent bystanders. Red light cameras offer a slippery slope. If we aren't careful, we may end up like Britian where cameras are everywhere… “for safety.”

If we really want to reduce the number of accidents at our intersections, our best option is to drastically increase the penalty for running red lights and to create a more efficient method for police to issue tickets to those breaking the law.