The Constitutional Status of Police Cameras in Intersections

However, this argument can only be considered marginal at best. What is ignored in this light is the fact that as automobile owners, we have a responsibility for making sure that our vehicles are not used for criminal activities or being driven by someone who is not licensed or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. With this logic in mind, it is reasonable to assume that it is our responsibility to make sure that anyone driving would do so in a safe and legal manner.

In Who Will Run the Red Light, Scott Russell writes that Arizona-based Redflex Traffic Systems is the provider of the majority of cameras that have been installed in intersections in Minneapolis. Consider the statistics indicating that 24.5 violators per hour were reported for the intersection of East Franklin Avenue & 5th Avenue South. That means that fines collected on tickets issued from just this one intersection amounts to over $3,100.00 per. When faced with these kinds of numbers, cameras certainly pay for investment and installation costs and provide the city with desperately needed funds that can be used for road improvements, funding for police departments.

In Intelligent Transportation Systems: Intersection Monitoring, University Professor Nikolaus Papanikalopoulos writes “collisions between vehicles at urban and rural intersections account for nearly a third of all reported crashes in the United States. This has led to considerable interest at the federal level in developing an intelligent, low-cost system that can detect and prevent potential collisions in real-time. Our research is aimed at the development of a system that uses video cameras to continuously gather traffic data at intersections (e.g., vehicle speeds, positions, trajectories, accelerations/decelerations, vehicle sizes, signal status etc.) which might eventually be used for collision prediction.” Three important goals of the research efforts made by Papanikalopoulos at the University of Minnesota are the integration of data collected by cameras for accurate vehicle position, creating a system for monitoring activity and predicting collision.

The issue that is evident in this situation is that cameras undeniably reduce accidents and efficiently report violators of traffic laws and efficiently monitor and control traffic flow. In addition to catching violators, these cameras also have the ability to analyze traffic flow and alert the appropriate authorities of potentially hazardous situations where accidents would likely occur.

In this age of technology, this is a function that would surely save lives, prevent life devastating injuries and reduce insurance costs as well as curb expenses to the city in terms of police time involved in responding to accidents, clean up, and court proceedings afterward. We all would like to see our Minnesota cities become safer for drivers and pedestrians. Therefore I maintain that the cameras are a valuable asset to the communities in which they are placed.