Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/48/4861.asp

12/28/2015
DC, France, Germany, Italy, Oman: Speed Cameras Trashed
Around the world, vigilantes trash dozens of speed cameras in the course of a week.

Oman speed cameraVigilantes knocked over an automated stop sign ticket camera in Washington, DC last week Monday. According to WTTG-TV, police found the device on the ground off Fessenden Street and 41st Street in Northwest. Stop sign cameras are rare, otherwise used by a state agency on California park roads.

In Muscat, Oman, a group of vigilantes ripped the electronic guts out of several speed cameras last Tuesday. The attacks took place on the Hafeet-Dhank highway in Dhahirah. Such incidents are common in the sultanate.

"Vandals smash speed cameras with rocks and sticks, and even ram their cars into them," a police official told the Times of Oman. "Sometimes they are destroyed by fires or gunshots."

Four individuals accused with destroying the camera equipment were taken into custody.

In Annezin, France, vigilantes used black spraypaint to disable a speed camera on Wednesday. According to La Voix du Nord, the attack disabled the automated ticketing machine on the D943. In Audincthun, the speed camera on the RD928 was spraypainted in blue last week Monday, just three days after it was installed, La Voix du Nord reported. Black spraypaint was the weapon of choice on Sunday on the RD1083 in Beaufort, according to Voix du Jura. Also on Sunday, black spraypaint took out the speed camera on the D1017 in Peronne, as explained in the Courrier-Picard newspaper. Bright green spraypaint disabled a pair of speed cameras in Franche-Comte, France 3 reported. The automated ticketing machines on the D437 in Valentigney and the RD12 in Grosmagny were taken out of commission. According to Sud Ouest, vigilantes used a tire to burn the speed camera on the RD911 in Lot-et-Garonne on Thursday. In Vosges, officials said thirteen of the department's twenty-two speed cameras were disabled this year by vigilantes, according to Vosges Matin.

In Gross Laasch, Germany, vigilantes on Wednesday sawed off the head of the speed camera on the B191 between Neustadt-Glewe and Ludwigslust. In a statement, local police admitted they had no idea who might be responsible.

In Bologna, Italy, vigilantes set fire to the speed camera on the Via Mazzoni on Christmas Day, ANSA news service reported. On the same day, vigilantes ripped a pair of speed cameras out of the ground in Ferrara. According to Estense, the automated ticketing machines were located on the Via Pontegradella and the Via Catena.