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Re: Hidden cameras to catch speeders



rlooney@csc.com (Richard Looney) wrote:

>Photo radar is being used not to supplement the observations of an
officer,
>but to REPLACE an officer. You are being accused and convicted by a
machine
>and there is nothing you can do about it. That is WRONG. Surveillance
used
>without just cause for suspicion is a tool of oppression.

This really isn't a case of "surveillance used without just cause" at all;
from what I understand of the systems, a sensor of some sort detects a
violation, which at that point activates the camera and records the image.
 The sensor's detection, in essence, is the "just cause" that activates
the surveillance.  I know this is how the systems set up to detect
red-light runners are set up, and am fairly certian the speeding systems
work the same way.  While a sensor may activate in error, so too can real
live police officers make a mistake.  

Also, it is specious to argue that "You are being accused and convicted by
a machine and there is nothing you can do about it."  All avenues
available to you had the violation been detected by an officer are still
available; you can contest the citation and appear before a judge or
magistate, etc.  Theoretically, you could appeal the conviction all the
way to the Supreme Court if you had a valid avenue of appeal.  The fact
that the evidence is strong and makes it hard to contest a citation does
not mean that you are being denied your constitutional rights, and
certianly does not constitute a "tool of oppression" (at least among the
non-paranoid).




S. Pierre Paret
Washington, D.C.  "Through Reason, or By Force."
spierre@aol.com


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