http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/dcblog/2011/06/broward_aclu_asks_communities.html

Broward ACLU asks communities to reconsider red light cameras

By Kathleen Haughney June 14, 2011 09:25 AM

The Broward County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sent out a release this morning asking that communities throughout the county to reconsider using red light cameras or to hold off on installing them.

“While questions about the constitutionality of the cameras have been raised, and challenges to the Florida statute authorizing the cameras are still pending in the courts, some of the Broward ACLU’s principal concerns focus as much on the data that is collected as on the cameras themselves,” said Brad Koogler, President of the Broward County Chapter of the ACLU of Florida. “We are concerned about who beyond law enforcement will have access to the records documenting the travels of motorists on roads and highways in our county, how long the records will be maintained, and whether such records will be used for other purposes,” he said.

The cameras have long been a controversial method to catch drivers who blow through red lights. The Legislature authorized the installation of the cameras a year ago, but this past spring, a new crop of lawmakers tried to repeal the law. They ultimately failed.

Opinions on whether the cameras work are mixed. Municipalities have dismissed many citations because the cameras are catching drivers who make legal right turns on a red light. Courts in Palm Beach and Broward counties have limited enforcement, forcing cities to devote extra resources to go after offenders.

Law enforcement groups lined up behind the policy though when several lawmakers tried to repeal it this spring, arguing that the cameras save lives.

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