Maryland: Cop Turns Against Photo Enforcement Program

would object to anything that eliminates their jobs. Especially union jobs.

Why would union jobs be any different from non-union jobs? I think you drank the propaganda kool-aid.

At least the police have the honor to say no

Based on the allegations in the article, this case would seem to be a clear violation of the law and indicate that Riverdale Park is not following proper procedures.

Kudo to the police officer for stepping up.

The police officer actually had a vacation....

Ha. Ha.

now, I am convinced that the photo enforcement program is for generating revenue.

It also made me to think if this happens somewhere else, 2..

As a resident of Maryland I can say that the town should be FORCED to repay those tickets, even if it bankrupts them. Second, the person who signed for the police officer should be fired & all those who assisted her. Thirdly, the company who installed the cameras should be let go. Lastly, the citizens of the town should have a referendum put before them to decided whether to keep ANY cameras within their jurisdiction.

Fred

A real life Serpico.....I guess there are always ways to introduce drama to our daily lives....

I'd wager that most folks who hate unions do so because they don't have a good a deal in their own place of employment.

.

Will remember when Riverdale Park was plain old Riverdale.

Chick Hall's Surf Club FTW!

No, it is because we learned at an early age about the tyranny of union control and "leadership." We learned that our (former) unions existed to make money for themselves and to protect the worst, least responsible, and least capable employees. We then learned that we could do much better by relying on our own intelligence, work ethic, and skills than by working as a union employee. Finally, we learned how to build our own business and prosper.

But it has zero to do with the OP's statement. Please folks, keep this train on the tracks...

As I said in another thread, these red light and speed cameras have been shown to do little or nothing to increase public safety. They are set up by private companies contracted with cities, usually with the agreement that the camera contractor receives 40%+ of the fines and the city getting the rest. They are placed in school zones where they are active after school hours, on weekends, and during the summer. They are placed in work zones when no work is being done. The motive is profit under the pretense of safety. Baltimore, MD is on the rise as one of the worse culprits given the population / camera ratio.

@blackkey76, you might want to look at these links for some success stories

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8178...

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_18392038

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Iowa-City-Moving-Forward-with...

http://www.kcci.com/r/30514752/detail.html

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/09/14/elk-grove-village-pla...

http://www.murfreesborotn.gov/default.aspx?ekmenu=132&id=626...

http://www.pennlive.com/letters/index.ssf/2012/02/red-light_...

http://www.redding.com/news/2012/feb/24/appellate-ruling-a-r...

The beat goes on.

Since your post was only two minutes after my post with several links included, I assume that you did not want to follow any of the links.

Why not?

It's happening EVERYWHERE...It's all about money, a seemingly legal approach to stealing money from the public, rather than skimming off of drug money seized really!

Speed cameras are legally ONLY supposed to be operating within 1 mile b4 and after construction work zones & school zones which CLEARLY must be posted that that area is sign posted as such. School zones are during certain hours and NOT during summer breaks.. just a little FYI

FYI... police departments are not union!

There still is a Riverdale and a riverdale park

They should and it would definitely bankrupt the town... revenues from those tickets are around the upwards of 4million dollars JUST FOR HALF THE YEAR probably not including the folks who didn't pay and have been reported to the MVA and have to pay a release fee to the town plus ticket fines, late fines & MVA fines!

Thank you.. I agree!! It seems it should be black and white. Also I'm confused as to how the third party company has the right to previously approve tickets b4 it's sent to police department 4 approval?!?! And WHY LEGALLY THE TOWN HAS THE RIGHT TO INVESTIGATE THEIR OWN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION... CLEARLY ANOTHER VIOLATION BCUZ MD STATE POLICE HAS TO DO IT! ALSO why hasn't anyone else being investigated regarding this?
AND how can one of the civilian employees made double salary to do these approvals? Proof right there that this a Mickey Mouse operation to steal money from citizens. Another great?... HOW IS IT THAT WHEN AN OFFICER TESTED THE ACCURACY OF THE CAMERAS THAT IT WAS OFF BY 15 TO 20 MPH OFF AS WELL AND WHEN IT WAS BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION TO SUPERVISORS THE REPLY WAS DO YOUR FN JOB AND KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND DON'T TEST THEM AGAIN!? How can a LT give himself a raise 3 or 4 times in a 6 month period totalling around 25K?
Furthermore.. how and why is it a LAW that a certified police officer has to check each camera at every camera EVERYDAY and they don't so all those tickets have 2be thrown out of court!! These are questions the public don't know to ask for these certifications in court including the accuracy and certificates to prove and that the OFFICERS have to be certified in red/speed cameras as well and prove in court and show proof as such, if not the judges have to throw it out.
A great link to check for these issues is stopbigbrother.org

The Baltimore Sun ran an article last week stating that in 2012, more than half of the **contested** speed camera tickets were dismissed by judges. Of course most such tickets are not contested. Many of the ones that were contested were obviously bogus such as one ticket issued to a car recorded standing still.

If you think this proves the system works, think again. A lot of Baltimore's speed cameras are near I-95 exits, because they know a lot of drivers there are from out-of-state and don't know Baltimore's game. It's not usually practical to contest a ticket when you live out-of-state. You recover nothing of your costs of fighting a bogus ticket such as travel expenses and time off from work.

You can read the article here:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/sun-investigates/b...

it's all about safety .... isn't it?

Another recent thread was about an article in the Wall Street Journal (http://www.poi-factory.com/node/39072). Reading that article led me to the author's blog (http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/seeing-red-1208/)

In that blog, the author referenced:

Simon Washington, a civil-engineering professor at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia
...
Washington co-authored a study for the Arizona Department of Transportation in 2005 that, typical of the confusing nature of red-light-camera research, found that the cameras had only minor positive safety benefits in Phoenix but major benefits safety in neighboring Scottsdale.
Washington added that there is an additional benefit not often touted by backers of the cameras: Both the revenue they raise, and the time they free up for police officers to enforce laws other than those barring red-light running, can go toward boosting safety. “Citizens often complain about seeing something as a revenue raiser,” Washington said. “But the reality is, if you’re funding other safety programs, and saving other lives in a network, it’s hard to argue it’s a bad outcome.”

Something to think about.

Nice twist of events!

Thanks

Did they run a red light???? Who cares who signed it????

Since you are new to the site, I suspect that you looked for threads that dealt with your location, Maryland. This would explain why you commented on a thread that is over a year old.

You have made some comments about Police Corporal Clayton Alford that I do not recall reading back when this thread first started. My recollection is that Alford was hailed as a hero and there was public support for him

Since you live in Maryland and are likely to have information others of us would not, I was wondering where you got the negative comments you made in your post about assault and multiple arrests. It is one thing to repeat stories about municipalities that may or may not be true, but it is an entirely different thing to do so about an individual.

It should come as no surprise to any of us that things said on the internet can take on a life of their own. They can be picked up and repeated not out of any malice for the individual but as a way to strike out at a municipality.

Lets just make up the rules to meet our desires?

The Officer whose name was used without their permission, the person who gets the false ticket

I have been a union member for over 50 yrs. ( I was a steward for quite a while) Union or not, this is wrong.
Tickets like this hit union & non union alike.

But what about the children.

How do you know this was a false ticket... Why in the world does anyone have to sign it anyway??? The proof is in the picture...

Some how this just doesn't surprise me!

The ticket needs to be signed showing someone has reviewed it and found a valid violation.

The ticket needs to be sign to show that you have accepted the ticket. That is all the signature is for.

Now just how could the cop's signature be forged in the blank where you accept the ticket? You don't sign for camera tickets mailed to you. A signature is required by the reviewing officer certifying that a violation has occurred. Do try to keep up.

The issue is a valid sworn police officer's signature which is legally required for the camera ticket to be valid.

Why would someone sign a ticket sent via mail? Your post makes no sense.

Maybe J. Fredd Muggs could sign some tickets. Or C Estes Kefauver.

Nothing to see here, move along and just pay the ticket.

The cop should receive an award for bravery.

It's about time honesty and integrity are brought back to the system of issuing tickets. I'm not surprised a police officer is setting the right example. We need more police officers to step forward around the country.

This guy should receive an award.