Los Angeles Police Board Votes to End Red Light Camera Program
After a year of effort by us, on Tuesday June 7th, the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners voted unanimously 5-0 to end the city’s Photo Red-Light Program. This was a courageous vote by a board with diverse backgrounds, all dedicated and very competent people who spent a lot of time studying this issue. After carefully considering the issue for many months, the Board determined that the claims of improved safety at red-light camera intersections could not be proven to their satisfaction. Also of concern to the Commission members was the fact that two of the three potential vendors for a new contract are headquartered in Arizona. Last year, after Arizona passed SB1070 targeting illegal immigrants, the LA City Council voted to impose a boycott forbidding Los Angeles from entering into contracts with business headquartered in the state. Additionally, under the proposed contract, the City would have lost at least $1.5 million each year of the program.
Unless the City Council votes to assert its jurisdiction over the issue by June 17th, the Board’s decision will become final. The Council would need 10 of 15 members to support the rarely invoked procedural rule. Doing so would put the Council in the unenviable position of overriding a unanimous vote of the civilian Commission, backtracking on their support of their own Arizona Boycott, and potentially obligating the city to a contract costing millions of dollars during a time of severe budget cuts, and further outraging a public already feeling abused by the excesses of government. Furthermore, even if the Council were to take back the issue, they cannot completely overrule the Board, but simply send the matter to the Police Board for reconsideration. Considering the comments made by Board members during their debate and their unanimous vote, it is highly unlikely they would decide the matter differently on reconsideration.
Unfortunately, the camera company that would have gotten the $15 million payout of taxpayer dollars, American Traffic Solutions (ATS), has been hard at work through their lobbyists trying to get the Council to do their corporate bidding. If they are successful, it would only prove that the cynicism the public has of government is justified.
For more information, visit the website of our grassroots organization dedicated to this issue: Safer Streets L.A.
Watch my interview on NBC4 LA
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by David Boaz or 
by David Bergland, both excellent books on libertarian thought.
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