Traffic Cameras Should be Forbidden Essay examples

red-light safety cameras increased 135%.” (“Red-Light Running Dangers”) When the conversation of whether to have red light cameras, or not to have red light cameras arises, human fatalities should without a doubt be a top consideration. Especially when a study performed during 2011 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that red light cameras had lowered

Rialto, California has been the poster child for the implementation of body cameras to its

2 The issue of Red Light Cameras has been an ongoing issue for a long time now. It has gotten to the point where our state government has jumped in. Individuals in our community have worked hard to ban the red light cameras; while the government has done the opposite. In the article, “Effort to ban red light cameras stopped in Texas House” states that effort to ban red light cameras in Texas died after a House lawmaker called a point of order- which is a procedural tactic used to kill bills. While on the other hand Rep. Joe Pickett, believes Texas should have the ability to determine whether each city should keep the red light camera program. Only four months into 2017 many bills have been filed to limit or disallow the use of red light cameras in many cities. Individuals of communities have tried to compromise with higher ups with the exemptions of tollways and police officers only using cameras. Many people in cities are tired of going to war with a camera and losing. Many cities such like Dallas are not moving in the direction of eliminating Red Light Cameras, majority of the community support the thought of having red light cameras at important congested intersections. 3 According to the article, “ Hate red-light cameras? Texas Lawmakers will try to ban them – again”, supports of red light cameras said “ the devices make the streets safer” , it was also stated that statistics show that since red light cameras have been present the number of child deaths have decreased. If the problem is people constantly running red lights then maybe state government should make it a priority to enforce that there is more police patrol around. Instead of state government expressing why they believe we should not ban red light cameras, they do not and allow local citizens to feel the need to argue or debate with state government. The biggest problem state government

There is no doubt that red-light cameras have gained increasing popularity among local municipalities following Florida’s 2010 decision allowing local governments to install them. The city of Lakeland elected to install nine additional cameras in just the past three years alone (Dunkelberger). Revenue and citations are not the only things that red-light cameras are generating; more and more citizens and legislators are sparking the news and interest of the media regarding the constitutionality of red-light cameras. Last year Hernando County Judge, Donald E. Scaglione, issued a statement calling the laws surrounding red-light camera violations "vague (and) arbitrary and capricious." While red light camera supporters argue that the cameras make intersections much safer, others insist that constitutional rights are being blatantly violated by state and local government. Most Americans agree that intersections and roadways need to be made safer, but at what cost?

Not having body cameras in the line of duty is becoming an issue, legally and ethically, for both officers and citizens. Body cameras show the objective perspective of police in the field, and show everything that occurred, whether it reflects positively or negatively on the officer. There is not much evidence yet on the effect body cameras have. However, one study that was done shows positive feedback from the use of body cameras. In Rialto, California, a study was conducted and showed that use of force by police officers and complaints by citizens were dramatically decreased after they began to use

Jamar Newsome Abstract Police departments nationwide have began to consider body cameras. Implementing body cameras department wide face many issues due to funding restrictions. Rialto Police Department faced the s

Before the creation of these cameras, complaints about police officers were numerous. By using these cameras, studies have shown that they enhance officers’ behaviors and have also helped reduce citizen complaints. “They found that the ‘officers wearing the cameras had 87.5 percent fewer incidents of use of force and 59 percent fewer complaints than the officers not wearing the cameras,’ the report states”

Cameras on school buses to enforce stop arm violations sound like an amazing solution to the ongoing problem of too many drivers behind vehicles running the red flashing lights and the stop sign when children are loading and unloading the bus. However, will this purposed objective iron out the issue at hand. To see if the cameras on the school bus are reaching the goal they were sit to accomplish. There must be an evaluation done on a comparison of the numbers of violations caught before and after the cameras were installed, has there been a decreased in the number of motorist running a stopped school bus, and if the cost of the cameras is being met over the citations that are being issued.

First off, having street cameras all over town can be a very useful thing. In the article “Sonoma County, following a global trend, is focusing cameras on public spaces” by Paul Payne, Payne writes about a man that was caught on camera breaking the gate to a parking garage, by cameras in the garage. With law enforcement watching those cameras, police were able to arrest the man before he could even get into his car in the parking garage. "What's nice

This experiment was conducted to see if the body cameras would improve relationships with the public. “BWCs were allocated to all frontline officers in one for a period of six months (July 23, 2014–December 15, 2014), but not to any other frontline officers of the other five geographic districts ( officers=513). The single geographic district was therefore the treatment area, while each of the five other districts served as comparison sites”(). Arrests, complaints, 911 calls and the use of force were monitored through the cameras to improve the results of the BWC experiments. So far, the results of the experiments turned out to be neutral; the BWC experiment did not see a significant increase or decrease of calls or arrests, but complaints

In the United States, in particular, policies such as this may be necessary to reduce police shootings and abuse of suspects. “In 2011, police killed six people in Australia, two in England, six in Germany and, according to an FBI count, 404 in the United States. And that FBI number counted only “justifiable homicides,” and was comprised of voluntarily submitted data from just 750 of 17,000 law enforcement agencies” (Stanley). The hope is that the implementation of these cameras reduces these numbers by a significant margin by providing reason for both the cops and the criminals to be more controlled. The use of cameras could also decrease the fear of police officers in routine crime stops if the citizen is aware that the officer’s actions are being recorded and

Excessive force from police officers has been a concern for many areas in the U.S. in recent years, resulting in protests and unnecessary deaths. A handful of incidents in places such as Ferguson and Baltimore have left many in America distrustful of law enforcement procedures and how some officers handle potentially dangerous situations. One solution proposed to this issue is to equip police officers with body cameras to record the actions of officers. Frank Scalise, author of his book on police body cameras, explains, “Body worn video in a police environment is a relatively new technology. Because of the great potential value in its use, both police agencies and communities are exploring implementing programs.” This idea can seem perfect at first, but others have concerns. Some argue that there are no formal policies for these cameras, and many are concerned with how expensive they are. However, if these challenges can be overcome, the potential benefits of police body cameras are significant in the areas of gathering accurate evidence at crime scenes, resolving the expenses of public complaints, improving officer training, and reforming the way officers act towards citizens.

Red light running is a serious issue in the United States. According to T. Walden and B. Bochner (2011), it is estimated these violations result in over 100,000 accidents and 1,000 fatalities each year. The economic impact is assessed to be over $14 billion dollars annually (“Effectiveness of Red Light Cameras-Texas Statewide Evaluation,” p. 30). Typical costs include items such as property damage, medical expenses, response expenditures, etc. The monetary costs are significant, but the loss of life is incalculable. N. Elminity and E. Radwan (2008) state that drivers who run red lights are the primary cause of high-speed angular collisions at intersections (“Issues Related to Red-Light Camera Enforcement Systems,” p. 32). RLCs are an attempt to increase safety and reduce risk at problematic intersections in order to mitigate these costs.

It will also be helpful to modify the traffic lights to make them more visible. Upgraded speed cameras will control most people that speed by taking a picture of their license plate and vehicle and giving them a moving violation ticket. Control officers will catch any drivers who are not following traffic laws and will give them a ticket as well. Safety programs in vehicles will help people to do things more safely such as making a call or sending a message. An all-red clearance light will cause all the lights on the intersection to stay red for at least five seconds to ensure that vehicles on all sides are stopped. Making the traffic lights in Surprise more visible whether it be making the lights larger, or switching out the bulbs with stronger, more opaque lights, will also help reduce the number of traffic accidents. The cost for the speed cameras, control officers, dynamic message boards, and implementing an all-red clearance interval have been calculated, however the cost of safety programs in vehicles and modifying current traffic lights are to be determined.

One hundred years ago, the thought of having traffic lights or stop signs at every intersection to direct the movement of traffics would probably consider an act of violation of civil liberties; but imagine if we do not have it today, there would be chaos. Having surveillance cameras doesn’t necessary prevent the crime, but it certainly reduce it to a more manageable occurrence. Just ask ourselves, would it be better to replace each camera with a police officer: would that be more effective method to deter crimes, would that be more cost effective at the same time, would that