LA Red-Light Cameras Project Heading for Shutdown

Los Angeles’ red-light-camera program is about to come to an end a the City Council has voted unanimously on Wednesday.The program was rated as being unpopular and unproductive and expects termination on July 31st.The program began in 2004 and more than 180,000 were ticked by the authorities using the red-light-camera program. Furthermore it was revealed that only 60 percent were payed, in a city-authorized audit.

The program was criticized from its beginnings due to the fact that it was believed to do little in order to improve public safety or decrease the red-light crossings. Furthermore it was revealed that the program was failing to achieve the forecasted levels of income when an audit for the departmental budget was started in 2010. So despite the budget deficit it was highlighted that the city was “fueling” more than $1 million into the program in order to keep it functional, as related by The New York Times.

A proposal to install more red-light cameras was rejected by the city auditors motivated by the fact that more cameras would only generate greater loss at the city budget. The backing up of the program was denied also by the Police Commission and the L.A. Superior Court. The Court expressed doubt to officiate fines for the issued citations giving the fact that the tickets were mailed at the registered owners of the vehicles spotted, which in many cases did not correspond with the guilty parties.

The red-light camera program has an uncertain future since some cities in Orange County have already banned the cameras and authorities in Westminster and the City of Orange are preparing legislation against them.