[ExI] The NSA's new data center

[Kelly Anderson]

On Sun, Mar 25, 2012 at 3:43 PM, The Avantguardian
<avantguardian2020 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> This is somewhat pertinent. Many cities are purposefully removing the red-light cameras they had previously installed. Although the articles cite many reasons, this trend was first brought to my attention by someone who claimed it was beecause cities were *losing* revenue from traffic citations. People learned where the cameras were and stopped running those lights. Eventually the cameras lost the cities more than it made them in revenue.
>
> Sometimes the state benefits more from crime and subsequent punishment than it does from preventative law-enforcement.
>
> http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/l-a-city-council-votes-to-remove-red-light-cameras/
>
> http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1065577_houston-joins-l-a-in-removing-red-light-cameras

I would find it extremely discouraging if this were a financial issue.
However, in reading the articles it seems that the problem is more
that the public finds the programs distasteful, and they are not able
to support them politically. As for the money, the LA program was
poorly conceived in that they only put the cameras on SOME lights, and
not the right lights at that. They also need to take a picture of the
car's driver so the courts can be sure they are ticketing the right
place. LA's program was also voluntary, you didn't have to pay the
fine. Apparently 40% of the people decided not to. Not a big surprise
being so many people in LA illegally to begin with... sigh.

Why it didn't work in Texas is a bit more of a mystery, except that
there was a ballot initiative to remove them. The people spoke, and
they'll have to pay the bill.

If it was JUST a money issue, they could just charge more for the
tickets. Moore's law again will take care of this part of the problem
over time. The cost of video surveillance equipment has plummeted over
the last decade as I've looked at systems. A $300 system today does
much more than a $10K system of ten years ago. With programs like
Vitamin C, it's only going to get more affordable and ubiquitous. I
just assume I'm on camera everywhere except inside my house... and my
son snuck a picture of me this morning.... LOL

-Kelly