Posted on: Saturday, January 5, 2002

Most officers support traffic cameras, chief says

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue yesterday said although there is some resistance among police officers to traffic enforcement cameras, most officers appreciate that the state is supporting law enforcement efforts to make the community safer.

"Prior to the cameras, people were complaining about all the speeding on our highways and how people were running red lights and blocking intersections," he said.

"You know the old adage: where is a cop when you need one? Well, technology will help us cover more ground. Law enforcement of the future is going to rely even more heavily on new technology."

Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali said 10,803 cars were checked Thursday and 630 — or 5.8 percent — were over the speed limit. On Wednesday, the first day the traffic photographers were out in vans citing drivers, 13,507 cars were checked and 927 — 6.8 percent — were speeding., Kali said.

"That's definitely fewer than the day before," Kali said. "Things are changing — slowly."

Currently, Honolulu police say they issue an average of about 100 tickets per day for traffic violations, including speeding.

Public opinion is running hot on the use of the traffic enforcement cameras.

"I think there are some in the community who think it is unfair, that it is Big Brother," Donohue said. "I think they resent that the cameras take away the personal contact and discretion the officers have."

But Donohue said those are issues the Legislature should address. The police department, like the state and the population in general, has an obligation to take steps to reduce speeding on Hawai'i's roads, he said.

"The bottom line is, we all have a shared responsibility for safety in the community," he said.

With a little relief provided by the state program, officers will have more time to address concerns other than speeding in their communities., Donohue said.

Meanwhile, Kali said technicians are examining the photographs taken Wednesday to determine how many drivers will find speeding tickets in their mailboxes next week. Those drivers whose full license plates are clearly displayed in the photographs taken Wednesday could get their citations in the mail as early as Monday.

The technicians have three days — until midnight Saturday for photographs taken Wednesday — to review the evidence, make sure license tags match vehicles described in owner registration information, and get the tickets in the mail, she said.

Kali said yesterday that care has been taken to make sure that a high percentage of the photographs provide sufficient evidence for prosecution.

Speeding cars, trucks and motorcycles are photographed twice, and the equipment that measures speed is accurate to within a tenth of a mile an hour, she said.

The photographers park their vans in spots that follow closely behind clearly marked speed limit signs.

The white vans and camera equipment inside them are operated by Affiliated Computer Services State and Local Solutions, better known as ACS.

Kali said in the past week the vans have worked from locations on Pali Highway, Likelike Highway, Kalaniana'ole Highway, Moanalua Freeway and Nimitz Highway. In the future, she said, they will expand out over several other state highways.

She said the state has also selected 10 intersections in which cameras will be connected to traffic lights, allowing motorists who run red lights to be ticketed.

Another 15 intersection will be added later, with selections based not only on the feasibility of adding the cameras to the existing infrastructure, but also on an analysis of crash data for each intersection, she said.