Spies and Lies Abound

In my research into the red light cameras that have popped up everywhere I discovered that not only do they not decrease accidents but they are a potential privacy hazard. In my research I cited a case in which the ACLU got involved with some cameras at a border being used to spy on travelers, showing that cameras originally put up for one purpose could easily become abused and used to spy on innocent people. Well, it's finally happened with the red light cameras specifically. From fox11az.com:

Fox 11 Investigation: Red light cams recording everyone

12:43 PM MST on Wednesday, January 28, 2009

By Delane Cleveland, Fox 11 News


Tens of thousands of Tucson residents are being videotaped during their daily lives by a private company under contract with the City of Tucson. It's something the vice mayor of Tucson says wasn't supposed to happen.

A Fox 11 News investigation shows that the red light-running cameras that the city began installing in 2007, and are now at four intersections, videotape constantly from multiple angles, whether the vehicles in the intersection are violating any laws or not. And that video is stored and accessible for up to four weeks by employees of American Traffic Solutions (ATS) in Scottsdale, the company the city signed a contract with to operate the system. The company also realizes a portion of the revenue from the citations.

The news caught one city council member off guard. Democrat Vice Mayor Karen Uhlich told Fox 11 News, "When the Mayor and Council approved the red light cameras, we were explicitly told that the cameras would be only be activated during a violation. We were told they would not be running all the time."

The digital photographs at each of the systems only activate during a violation and take pictures of the offending vehicle, but Fox 11 has learned the video records every minute of every day and it is stored in ATS's computers for two to four weeks.

"It's well known. It's in the contract. The police department is aware. There's nothing that surprises. It's been done like this across the country for years," ATS's Josh Weiss told Fox 11. He also claimed the video is not high enough quality for it to be a privacy issue. He compared the cameras to the same you see from the Arizona Department of Transportation along urban interstate highways in Arizona. But those cameras are nearly 100 feet above the road. The ATS cameras are frequently in the street median just a few feet above the vehicle.

But Weiss did say his company is developing a system where the cameras would be able to read license plate numbers and notify police of any wanted vehicle which passes through the intersection.

Right now, when a person either runs a red light or is caught speeding by the system, digital pictures are taken and once confirmed by police, those pictures are sent to the owner of the vehicle, along with a citation which can be hundreds of dollars. In the citation is a link to a website where that individual can view video of the infraction. Weiss says that video usually starts about six seconds prior to the infraction and goes for several seconds after it.

Tucson Police spokesperson Sgt. Chuck Ryzdak told Fox 11, "You can't expect the camera system to know when the violation is going to take place. So there's a 24/7 loop going there, monitoring traffic."

But Vice Mayor Uhlich claims the council members were never told that. She says, "I'm sure we would want to have a discussion at the table for sure to revisit how the program is operating and how citizen's rights and privacy are being protected."

Bill Conley of the organization CameraFraud.com claims the cameras are a bad idea. "Obviously, the city needs to do more research before they start implementing these things because it's pretty obvious to me that they didn't know what they were getting into or they were lied to," Conley told Fox 11.

Conley's organization is initiating a petition drive in Arizona to ban the cameras state wide. There's a movement in the state legislature to ban the cameras on state highways, but that would not impact camera systems in Tucson and other cities in Arizona.

The City of Tucson has indicated it plans to double the number of camera systems inside city limits, and the Pima County Board of Supervisors recently voted 3-2 to install up to 20 similar systems in Pima County. Many of those will be slated for urban areas in the Catalina Foothills and areas northwest of the Tucson city limits. The $1.5 million contract is also with American Traffic Solutions, so it is assumed the systems will also record video at the intersections constantly. Pima County officials did not return Fox 11 telephone calls for confirmation on Tuesday.

Sgt. Ryzdak, when told about Vice Mayor Uhlich's concerns, told Fox 11, "Maybe it's something our department is going to look at, something our legal advisers will look at. Obviously, if the city council is concerned about it and after they have all the information in front of them, they'll make a better decision whether we should keep going with the program or whether we should cease the program."














Don't hold your breath though. The same thing has been taking place with speed cameras!

Here is the story from eastvalleytribune.com:


Speed cameras record streaming video 24/7
Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services


Surprised state lawmakers learned Thursday that the photo enforcement cameras they authorized last year to catch speeders are actually taking - and keeping - videos of everyone who passes.

The information came out as a House panel debated legislation to outlaw the operation of fixed and mobile cameras on state roads. Backers of the legislation complained that the cameras are really designed to generate revenue and not to improve public safety.

But they learned that the cameras do more than snap still photos of those clocked driving at least 11 miles over the speed limit. In fact, they actually are recording streaming video around-the-clock.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, said what's worse is that Redflex Traffic Systems, the private company hired by the state to set up and operate the cameras, advertises that it has technology that actually can scan in the license plates of every vehicle that passes the cameras. And that, Biggs said, allows creation of a database that can find out where people have been at any given time.

Biggs said there is no expectation of privacy on public roads.

"But this is more invasive than ever experienced," he said.

Foes of photo enforcement weren't the only ones who appeared troubled by the revelation.

Rep. Eric Meyer, D-Paradise Valley, voted to keep the system alive, saying he believes it saves lives. But Meyer said lawmakers need to address the issue of whose photos are taken and kept by the government.

"That absolutely concerns me," he said.

Rep. Sam Crump, R-Anthem, said he crafted HB2106 because last year's legislation authorizing the Arizona Department of Public Safety to set up the cameras never got a full debate. Instead, it was tucked into the state budget, a move he said was designed more to raise money to pay for various programs than to actually benefit public safety.

DPS Cmdr. Thomas Woodward said the evidence shows that when the cameras went up, both the number and severity of accidents went down.

Crump said he doesn't believe that to be the case.

But the discussion quickly turned after Woodward revealed that Redflex had actual around-the-clock videos from each of the fixed and mobile cameras. Biggs said that little bit of information has been kept from both lawmakers and the public.

"At the bare minimum, everybody should be made privy to the fact that if you're driving on everybody's highways we're taping you, 24/7, and we're going to hold it for 90 days," he said.

DPS Lt. James Warriner said there's a legitimate reason for doing the recording and keeping the tapes. He said they have proven useful in finding hit-and-run drivers and even in identifying someone who stole a motorcycle.

Warriner said the videos are for law enforcement use only and not a public record.

Biggs, however, said that doesn't mean others won't be able to access those tapes.

He said that information might prove useful to attorneys or private investigators in civil or divorce cases who might seek to prove to a court that someone was not where he or she was supposed to be.

Warriner conceded the videos could, in fact, be used that way if a lawyer could get a subpoena.

"If a judge signs off on that and orders us to release it, we're going to have to release it," he said. But Warriner said such a court order would have to be issued within 90 days of the event or there would be nothing for his agency to produce.

Warriner said, though, his agency is willing to stop the around-the-clock taping if that is what lawmakers want.

"We are acting under what the legislators gave us last year," he said. "If they see fit to make changes, we'll go out and do it. We just want to keep the program because we know it's making an impact on lives and the public."

At this point, the future in doubt, the committee voted 5-2 to kill the program which, in turn, would eliminate the videos.

Meyer voted against the bill, saying his main concern is public safety.

"I'm approaching this from my history of service in the emergency department (of hospitals) where I see the result of the accidents that occur on a freeway," he said. "These systems seem to dramatically reduce the number of accidents and increase the safety of our freeways."

Meyer said the program could be saved - and some of the objections addressed - by altering the laws governing how the photo enforcement system is operated, including the use of the video cameras.

An aide to Gov. Jan Brewer said she was studying the contract - as well as how the photo enforcement system was adopted as part of the budget process - before deciding whether it should be canceled.


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This is complete and total bullshit. Before I thought Big brother was going too far making a non-dangerous activity into a crime, but then to find out that they're spying on everyone with all the cameras that have been put up, that enrages me.

Soviet Union, here we come....

Edit: It looks like most of the spying activities will be laid to rest, but the red light cameras will most likely still be up and possibly recording, but I'm not sure. Many of the cameras on light poles are likely recording 24/7 also and I don't think those will be taken down either.