Citizens in Charge

The Los Angeles Police Commission voted Tuesday to kill the city’s red light enforcement camera program, unanimously rejecting arguments that the cameras increase safety.

According to the L.A. Times, the contractor that provides the cameras could attempt to politically maneuver around the Police Commission’s decision by getting the L.A. city council to act, but given the wide unpopularity of the cameras among voters city council action is unlikely. Many of the Police Commissioners stated that the program is unfair to drivers, with one Commissioner, a former traffic cop, saying:

It’s a dishonest program…This thing really mocks the public.

In the past few years red light cameras have become a red-hot topic for local ballot initiatives. Citizens in Charge takes no position on the cameras, but we do believe that voters should have a chance to decide the issue through the initiative process in Los Angeles and every other city in America.

Last November voters in Houston, America’s fourth largest city, voted to ban the cameras. Red light cameras have never survived a public vote and are typically rejected by wide majorities of voters.