July 31--HAMILTON -- Since expanding the locations it places the city's controversial mobile speed camera, fewer citations have been given to motorists per hour of operation in the past five months.
In late March, Hamilton City Council approved a request by the police department to expand the places the device would be located to deter speed violations.
Police Chief Scott Scrimizzi said he wanted to use the truck to address problem areas raised by neighborhood residents and police in other areas besides the 44 locations originally chosen. The chief's preference is to use police officers in cruisers to answer calls for service to residents.
The total number of tickets issued per hour of operation dropped from 8.7 tickets issued per hour earlier in the year to 4.5 from March 1 to July 13, according to city records analyzed by the JournalNews.
Sgt. Steve Henderson said the police department is not concerned with the drop in citations.
"The goal is not to write tickets," Henderson said. "The goal is to change driving behavior."
Jim Berns, a congressional candidate from College Hill in Cincinnati, was part of an unsuccessful petition drive last fall to put city referendum to prevent the use of speed camera.
Berns said earlier this year that he believes the city's speed camera program is focused on generating revenues than on traffic safety.
"We think it's unconstitutional because you cannot confront your accuser," he said. "We want a cop to issue a ticket and not a machine."
Police say the speed camera truck is fair as it eliminates the possibility of a police officer using his discretion to give family or friends a warning rather than a ticket. The speed camera truck has issued citations to City Council members, city officials and current police Chief Scrimizzi. Henderson said that he's received a couple of red light camera tickets in Middletown.
According to city records, the speed camera truck was deployed a little more than 174 hours at 19 locations between Jan. 1 and Feb. 29. The truck assessed 64,960 vehicles and sent out 1,515 $95 civil citations to motorists who exceeded the speed limit. During that time, there were 8.7 tickets issued per every hour the device was deployed.
Henderson said residents as well as business owners are calling to request the speed camera truck to be deployed on their street.
"Some residents are calling because they think people are flying down their street," Henderson said. "They think it's great we're able to put the truck out in their neighborhoods."
Henderson said the speed camera truck was placed on D Street for a couple of days and did not generate any citations. However, when it was placed on Gordon Smith Boulevard, where there are a lot of children in the neighborhood, Henderson said 91 citations were generated.
Between March 1 and July 13, the speed camera truck was deployed 807 hours at 54 locations throughout the city. During that time, the truck assessed 231,983 and 3,630 civil citations were issued. The total number of tickets issued per hour of operation dropped to 4.5 during this time, according to city records.
The 1300 and 1400 blocks of High Street generated the most citations with 1,518 during this time period while it was deployed just more than 124 hours.
Other areas where large number of citations were generated included 303 in the 100 block of North Washington Boulevard for the nearly 113 hours it was deployed; the 500 and 600 blocks of Ross Avenue where 333 citations were generated over 59 hours; the 900 and 100 blocks of North Third Street where 247 citations were issued over a 57-hour period; the 1100 block of Heaton Street where 231 citations were issued over 42-hour period; the 1200 block of North Third Street where 204 citations were issued over a 58-hour period; and the 1800 block of Eaton Road where 136 citations were issued over 73-hour period.
A civil citation is generated if a vehicle is photographed going more than 10 mph over the speed limit in a school zone and from 12 to 14 mph over in other zones.
For the first 20 months since the controversial speed enforcement program was fully implemented in July 2010, more than 550,000 vehicles were assessed at 44 designated locations. During that time, 9,695 civil citations were issued following a two-part review by the vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems of Phoenix, and by Hamilton police. A motorist has 20 calendar days from the date of issue to pay the civil citation. If a civil citation is not paid after 90 days, the penalty is increased to $175.
The speed camera truck is owned and maintained by Redflex and the city has a contractual obligation to deploy the truck at least 20 hours a week. The city receives $50 of the $95 civil citation penalty and between July 2010 and Feb. 17, the city's general fund received $378,361.
Unlike receiving a speeding ticket from a police officer, a civil citation does not incur points on a motorist's driving record or gets reported to their insurance company.
In comparison, a speeding ticket issued by a police officer, and depending on the speed and location, could result in a required court appearance, receiving a fine and court costs that could range from $108 to $136 in addition to points being assessed to a person's driving record and a possible rate hike for insurance. It also takes an officer 25 to 30 minutes to pull over a driver to write a traffic ticket.
Copyright 2012 - Hamilton JournalNews, Ohio
