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Cams ID the guilty Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Palle Johansen of Sydney, Australia, operations manager for Poltech International, installs a red-light camera at the intersection of Biddle and McAndrews roads. Medford police will test the cameras for two to three weeks before they start issuing citations to drivers caught running red lights. By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune If the company managing Medford's photo enforcement program goes broke, it's done its job, said Jack Weaver, a manager for the Australia-based vendor Poltech International Limited. "In Australia, we call it a voluntary tax," Weaver said. "If you don't want to pay the tax, don't speed." The "voluntary tax" isn't going to be a money-maker for the city, as some opponents of the red-light camera and photo speed- enforcement project may think, said Medford Deputy Police Chief Ron Norris. The company that provides and maintains the city's camera systems - APAC Technologies - receives a portion of each paid citation. But it does not approve citations nor direct the police department how to use the technology, Weaver said. APAC receives no additional fees. The City Council in January approved funds to install red-light cameras. A Salem-based contractor received $115,153 to do the work. Red-light cameras were installed at Biddle and McAndrews roads and Riverside Avenue and Barnett Road, intersections that have been identified as accident-prone. The presence of cameras should cut down on 20 to 60 percent of red-light violations , the Federal Highway Administration said in a report issued in January 2000. Norris and public works officials set the project in motion more than two years ago in response to Medford's two biggest traffic complaints - speeders and red-light runners, Norris said. Investing in technology to improve policing is advocated by the city and police Chief Eric Mellgren because it typically costs less than manpower, said Medford City Manager Mike Dyal. Red-light cameras - widespread in Asia and Europe - will cut down on a major traffic hazard and cost much less than the $200,000 it would take to pay police officers to monitor one intersection 24 hours a day every day of the year, Norris said. "No city in America can afford to do that, so that's why we've gone with technology as our best friend," Dyal said. Digital cameras installed in speed-enforcement vans and at selected intersections not only are more accurate than officer surveillance, Norris said, but some may consider more fair. Officers can issue citations for running a yellow light if it appears the driver could have stopped safely. With red-light cameras, yellow-light runners are in the clear. Only drivers who enter the intersection once the light has turned red will receive a citation. "These aren't your close calls," Norris said. Vehicles that stop over the crosswalk but don't enter the intersection won't receive a ticket. And seeing a flash of light at the camera-equipped intersections doesn't mean drivers have broken the law. A flash that lasts approximately one-millionth of a second goes off every time the signal turns red to illuminate vehicles' interiors, but drivers likely will only catch a glimpse of it at night, Weaver said. Digital cameras used at the intersections and in speed enforcement vans will take photos of vehicles and their drivers. Citations will be issued to vehicles' registered owners, but if the registered owner was not driving, the citation is dismissed under Oregon law. A form for such cases, called "certificate of innocence," is included with the citation. The owner must submit this form and a driver's license photo to the police department. The department will decide whether to re-issue the citation. Drivers who choose to contest the final citation must appear in Medford Municipal Court. A copy of a photo of the vehicle will accompnay the citation. The police department is prepared to go to court on every citation issued, Norris said. For that reason, a sworn officer reviews the photos, approves each ticket and verifies that the date, time and location accompanying each photo is correct and that the offense can be prosecuted before citations are mailed. APAC employees in a local office will prepare the citations and send them electronically to the police department for officer approval. The process will be monitored by an administrative sergeant, Norris said. Because each photo warrants a citation, the issue of officers letting drivers off the hook with a warning isn't a factor, Norris said. Medford police officers could receive tickets - which would be paid out of their pocket - if they were caught by the red-light camera or the speed-enforcement van's laser beam and weren't responding to an emergency. "There's no discretion here," Norris said. "You're toast." The red-light cameras and a speed-enforcement van will be tested this week, but no citations will be issued for another two to three weeks, Norris said. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.