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Baltimore Red-Light Camera Tickets Verified by Dead Police Officer

 
16,958 views Feb 24, 2011

Red light camera in Beaverton, Oregon, from Wikipedia

Red light camera in Beaverton, Oregon, from Wikipedia

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As readers of the Risk Factor know, blaming the computer for any and all technical glitches is a fairly regular and convenient excuse. One of the more unusual technical problems blamed on a computer was reported about a week plus ago by the WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team in Baltimore, Maryland.

Apparently, some 2,000 Baltimore red light camera traffic citations which require a police officer to swear that he or she has reviewed the photos as indeed showing a traffic violation had a slight problem. It seems that all the verification signatures on the citations issued were from a police officer who had died in a car accident last year.

WBAL-TV said the error was discovered when a retired police officer acquaintance of a driver who had received a $75 red light camera ticket on 12 January 2011 noticed the signature on the citation was from the police officer who he knew was deceased.

A Baltimore police spokesperson, WBAL-TV said:


"... blamed the problem on a computer glitch, which is the fault of the company that operates the camera system, and he said the problem has been rectified."

policeman reaching into car

policeman reaching into car

Enlarge Photo

Exactly how the deceased officer's name ended up on the tickets wasn't fully explained, but Baltimore police insist that internal police documents show that a live officer reviewed and approved the citations. Legal experts say Baltimore may have difficulty enforcing the tickets if they are challenged in court, however.

What Baltimore could (or should) do is follow the lead of Edmonton Canada's Chief Crown Prosecutor Steven Bilodeau who decided late last month that all persons who had received speed on green camera tickets at city intersections since November 2009 are eligible for refunds. Some 140,000 tickets worth about C$13 million are involved.

According to this story published in the Edmonton Sun, a speed on green ticket coincidentally issued on 12 January 2011 indicated that that a car had gone through a city intersection at 143 km/h, which, the Crown prosecutor said, was "obviously wrong."

This erroneous speeding ticket kicked off an investigation that resulted in the decision to dismiss all the speed on green tickets as a "matter of fairness," Crown Prosecutor Bilodeau said.

The Sun story says that the offending cameras would be pulled for at least a month, and that the cameras' problem could involve either hardware or software issues.

I can't find any update to this story, such as the confirmed cause of the glitch or when the cameras will be returned to operation. Anyone know?

I also haven't seen anything that indicates that Baltimore plans to drop all 2,000 tickets "as a matter of fairness," either. With a $150,000 at stake, I doubt the city will.

This story, written by Robert Charette, was originally posted on IEEE Spectrum, an editorial partner of High Gear Media.





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Comments (16)

  1. No Car Posted: 2/25/2011 2:07pm PST

    Wah, wah, wah.
    The driver is always the victim.
     
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  2. Bob H Posted: 2/25/2011 8:44pm PST

    In Canada they might do the decent thing and give the money back. This is the USA, where money trumps all.
     
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  3. Jay L Posted: 2/25/2011 9:20pm PST

    How about dont run redlights or speed through them and you wont have to worry about who is signing them? You're right bob, money does trump all in the US, but even more than that is the American public's inability to take responsibility for their own actions. These tickets shouldn't be dropped. And as a matter of principle, anyone who tries to fight these tickets in court should be fined double for wasting taxpayer money by even taking it to court. If you got a ticket, you broke the law. Period. The hamburglar could sign the ticket. It doesnt matter. The only thing the city of baltimore needs to do is fix their computers.
     
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  4. Jerry K Posted: 2/26/2011 4:22am PST

    Really Jay? Seems to me that a system that signs a dead officers signature on a document swearing that what is represented is a violation could have other flaws? At the very least it circumvents the built in protections guaranteeing these are legitimate violations and therefore incontestable. Nowhere in this article was anyone fighting these tickets. In fact, in the first case it was a retired Baltimore police officer who pointed it out and in the second case it was a Canadian prosecutor. I suppose, in your opinion, anyone prosecuted for any crime is also automatically guilty and anyone who fights charges against them in court should be doubly punished. Why don't you take responsibility for your own anger and frustrations and channel them into more thoughtful responses?
     
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  5. Bob J Posted: 2/26/2011 4:26am PST

    Business as usual here in Baltimore, nothing to see here. We recently had a large number of traffic tickets overturned because the officer was just sitting at home writing up random fake tickets. Hell, just this week 30+ officers are on unpaid suspension after getting caught in a federal investigation for referring crashed/broken down cars to an unlicensed tow truck company for kick-backs($300.00each)
     
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  6. Trey Posted: 2/26/2011 5:09am PST

    Running red lights is really dangerous. That's why for profit companies have made great headway into installing these cameras in many communities, then splitting the profits with the municipality.
    Unfortunately, greed often comes into play. Independent analyses have shown that the duration of the yellow light often mysteriously decreases when these lights are installed. And it's been shown that accidents usually go UP at intersections when these cameras are installed, probably because the locals know to brake hard when they see the yellow. Does it really make sense to use a system that increases accidents? Sure it does, if you need the revenue. Should the municipality assure the public that the system is fair by claiming a live police officer reviews the evidence?
     
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  7. austintyson Posted: 2/26/2011 5:46am PST

    Red light cameras... Don't help a thing. A semi hits a slick spot in the road blows its horn because it knows it can't stop safely and goes thru the red light seconds after it turns red.. Later it gets a ticket.. So would it be better for that driver to say stop the semi and maybe smash a car or two? Or is it better to just go thru the light? A officer watching would know it was safe but does the camera?? Nope not at all.. they just issue a ticket and claim the camera is right.... and what happens when they decide all tickets written are right and the person is always wrong.. after all they got the ticket in the first place.. Don't be so easy to sign away your rights.. we have a system in place to guard and protect us.. give it away and we have nothing but fear and lost of freedoms
     
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  8. Jay L. Posted: 2/26/2011 5:47am PST

    Jerry, No it doesn't.
     
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  9. austintyson Posted: 2/26/2011 6:32am PST

    Jay you really believe this.. WOW.. So you want them to give you ticket that is believed to be signed off on being real by a dead man.. A police officer is suppose to view the ticket and sign the ticket.. So if I take your check book and sign my name the bank should honor the check?? Thats what you are saying? How can a dead man issue a ticket??
     
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  10. ausitntyson Posted: 2/26/2011 7:03am PST

    and another thing.. I hope the family of the dead officer sues.. After all the city is using his ID to profit... And the city is issing a ticket in his name which means they are forging his signiture. So how many laws are they breaking or have broke.. Oh wait its a computer fault.. it was still allowed to happen and the city is still at fault.. No matter why the tickets are issued they are still using that officers good name to profit.. And yes my father was a Policemen and if it was my father I would be wanting the city to pay big time.. To see his name on tickets after the fact he had passed plus the fact to think so little of my family to allow this to happen and to have his name put into the lime light... and just think what would happen if say someone knew where he lived and decided to take action against him at his home.. this does happen.. then the family is paying for something that should have never happened in the first place... So do you think its fair the city use a dead mans ID to issue tickets and never mind the fact his is no longer an employee.. do you not see how many wrongs go along with these illegal tickets?
     
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  11. bigbadjohn Posted: 2/26/2011 8:12am PST

    Come on.....this is nothing more than a money grab. Where i live we have red light cameras. But in the last two years the city hasnt made any money off of them. So what did they do? They are now writing tickets like never before. For anything and everything. From what i hear the officers were told to write as many tickets as they can. If they dont they face layoffs. That my friends is a money grab.
     
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  12. Jupiter photographer Posted: 2/26/2011 8:21am PST

    These red light cameras are another scam to defraud the public. I live in Jupiter Florida and the have these "public safety" camera things are all around the metro area and they just write tickets for the momey. safety has nothing to do with it. I want to put something on the ballet to make them illegal and let the voters decide.
     
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  13. DFL Posted: 2/28/2011 8:00am PST

    Another shining example of our why we can't trust our government to do anything other than extort money from us.
     
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  14. FACLC Posted: 3/6/2011 10:26am PST

    The comment that Edmonton's speed-on-green camera "a car had gone through a city intersection at 143 km/h" is correct. What made it so obviously wrong is that the car was one of many apparently traveling 89 miles an hour through the gridlocked intersection. At 5:10pm. On a weekday.
     
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  15. Depaul Posted: 3/11/2011 3:09pm PST

    I got a speeding ticket for going 62 on the Baltimore Beltway, that's 7 miles over the limit, or so I thought. I happened to be in a work zone so the speed limit was 50, which put me 12 over. This ticket was issued at 5:45am on a Sunday morning, it was dark and no one was working, I was told it didn't matter, it's still a work zone. How you going to argue with logic like that.
     
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  16. James Posted: 3/13/2011 8:37pm PDT

    Depaul, it is the same for school zones. It can be 3am or a Sunday afternoon and the ticket is still the same. Not right, but that is how they make their money. I am a strong supporter of red light cameras, as it is black and white. If you cross the line after the light turns red, you are guilty, and the video is proof. A speed camera is subject to error. If there is a vodeo, I guess you could do the math to show your speed, but it is not black and white.
     
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