10/30/2006

Swampscott, Massachusetts Selectmen Ignore Advice on Cameras
Swampscott, Massachusetts selectmen continue to push red light cameras despite a report showing the devices inappropriate for the town.

Selectmen in Swampscott, Massachusetts are pushing forward with an attempt to install red light cameras despite an earlier town meeting vote and a committee recomendation against their use. A town meeting will be held on November 13 where officials will make a second attempt to sell residents on the proposal.

Earlier this month a committee of Swampscott residents released a study of available literature on red light cameras which concluded the devices would not be appropriate for town because its intersections had so few collisions related to red light running that the only benefit to their use would be the $490,000 in revenue generated in the first year (read the report).

"Law enforcement shouldn't be for sale," committee member Randy Chapman told the selectmen, as reported by the Swampscott Reporter newspaper. "If it's all about raising money, I'd rather the police hold a bake sale. It would be more intellectually honest than this. It should be about public safety."