The Gloucester Township Red-Light-Camera Scam

This will document my experience with the red-light-camera scam in Gloucester Township. The bullets draw attention to what I think are the problems exposed by this ordeal.

On, or about, July 21, 2012, I received a notice in the mail from Gloucester Township that one of my vehicles had run a red-light and was caught on camera. The penalty for this violation was $85. I was ordered to pay up or appear in court.

• In my opinion, and the opinion of others that understand the law much better than me, this is a clear violation of the principle of the “presumption of innocence” upon which our law rests. There was no proof furnished that I was either driving the said vehicle or that I was even in the said vehicle or at the scene of the so-called violation, however, it was established that I was guilty of a violation and I was being ordered to pay a fine or appear in court, plead not-guilty, and defend myself or pay a lawyer to do it. Essentially, I was being declared guilty unless I could provide clear proof that I was innocent. This, in my mind, is ‘guilt by association’ (i.e., I was being charged because I was associated with the vehicle as its owner) and I am unaware of the legality of such a charge. BOOM! Guilty until proven innocent!
• The 6th Amendment to the Constitution assures us that we have the right to a speedy trial.

The violation of which I was being accused in the notice I received was stated as having occurred on the 3rd of July. Almost three weeks had passed since the supposed violation yet I was supposed to have awareness of this violation when no witness at the time had ever come forward to accuse me. Which brings me to…

• The 6th Amendment to the Constitution assures us that we have the right to be confronted by our accusers when being charged of any crime.

Okay, this particular subject has been beaten to death by one (or more if there is actually more than one) Gloucester Township attack dog on a previous blog. In the comments of that blog I addressed the topic of what is or isn’t a crime and whether we are dealing with semantics or not. My explanation can be seen in the comments section of that blog in three parts identified as “Is there a problem identifying a red-light ticket violation as a minor crime?” Suffice it to say, in the case of a red-light-camera ticket you are being charged with violating a traffic law and if you wish to contest it you need to appear in court. Call it what you may. ‘Nuff said.

I don’t see how anything that I have related moves the burden of proof off the state to prove guilt, to provide a speedy trial, and to grant the accused access to the accuser and/or witnesses who were party to any alleged infraction. I’m not sure how 3 weeks to alert me that I was being charged of a violation meets any criteria of “speedy.” In fact, most people would have no recollection of such after three weeks.

With the inclusion of the video attached to this blog, I have made you party to evidence I collected on the 23rd of July, 2012, after I received the notice of my violation. This evidence was collected at the intersection where that violation was purported to have occurred. The regulations governing the use of red-light-cameras are clear, in fact, red-light-camera cases were thrown out and red-light-cameras throughout New Jersey were taken off line because these regulations were not adhered to correctly. What you see in the video is a clear violation of the directive that states a yellow light shall remain yellow for one second per every 10-mph speed limit on the road which the light controls. This information regarding yellow light timing requirements was confirmed to me by the law officer who reviewed my video with me on my day in court. The included video was collected with a digital camera and converted to its present format with a video editing program that allowed me to observe time passage down to hundredths of a second thus allowing me to time the yellow light at about 2 seconds, a clear violation of state regulations for Little Gloucester Road at Blackwood-Clementon Road (35mph).

Now to my day in court…Show up at eight and wait. Wait for the officer to review your video. Wait to talk to the prosecutor. Wait for the Judge.

The officer that reviewed my video with me was unable to deny the points I made concerning my wrongful accusation but stated since he was not the writing officer he could not dismiss the ticket; he would have to have the prosecutor review it. Kick the can down the road and I was told to go take a seat and wait…some more.

• The process as I have been led to understand it is that the video is first reviewed by the private contractor responsible for the equipment and who definitely has a vested interest in the outcome. The video is then to be reviewed by a police officer. All this to make sure that there is a chargeable offense and it’s not a false positive, so to speak.

Be assured, it is in the hands of the contractor and then the officer to reject any video under consideration if it does not show a provable violation has occurred.

I couldn’t possibly overlook my experience with our friendly public servant prosecutor. In review, I was told by a police officer that he would have the prosecutor review my video and then speak to me. So there I was waiting for an interview with the always friendly prosecutor. When he called my name, I approached him foolishly thinking he was ready to discuss my problem so imagine my shock when he turned to me and said rudely, “Yea, what do you want?” Okay, I get it, so I proceeded to explain to him my problem and he quickly interrupted me and with a wave of his hand and said, “Take it up with the judge.”

Allow me to wonder aloud; there I was about two-and-a-half hours into my day, subsequently missing work, and there was the prosecutor, a public servant on the dole, getting paid, quite handsomely, I’m sure, and he’s in a bad mood and treats the public like something a dog left out on the street. Well, excuse me.

So, the can was kicked down the road again and I was up for more waiting. Finally, as it’s approaching almost four hours and there’s maybe two other people left waiting for their cases to be called, the judge calls my name. The judge explains that the officer in charge of the red-light-camera tickets is not present so I can be rescheduled (oh yeah, as if four wasted hours wasn’t enough already) or I could agree to be judged by the video. Well, DUH!, that’s what I’ve been saying was my defense from the moment I entered the courtroom. Uh-oh, the video link has to be set up so I am told to take a seat and…wait! Fortunately, that was rather quick and I was called back after one person so that it’s just me and one other person still waiting.

Here’s my big chance to prove my innocence and, lo and behold, the prosecutor, with a face as sour as a lemon, approaches the judge and informs him that based on the video there is not enough evidence to convict me so the charge should be dismissed. Well, hello! And that prosecutor looked so upset I though the $85 the township didn’t get from me came right out of his own pocket.

• I was hauled into court based on a charge of “guilt by association” with my car. It was never established that I was in the vehicle or even at the scene of the so-called violation. I was essentially charged as guilty until I could establish my innocence at the cost of a day’s work and all I got in court was a bucketful of grief from our so-called public servants whose salary I pay. There was no apology issued to me and there was no reimbursement offered for my time. Rather than entering the court with a presumption of innocence, it was assumed I was guilty and up to me to prove otherwise. Even though a private contractor and a Gloucester Township police officer were supposed to have reviewed the video evidence before a violation ticket was issued, neither of them appeared to have been able to see what I, the reviewing officer on the day of my hearing, and the prosecutor could plainly see or not see, as it were; that there was no proof that my vehicle was involved in any real infraction.

The whole sordid mess is one big scam. If you don’t get enough money from the people from one method of taxation you just create another method to fleece the people…real estate taxes, school taxes, municipal taxes, dog and cat license taxes, red-light-camera ticket taxes, and on and on and on. Why, you ask, would I miss a day’s work to fight an $85 red-light-camera ticket? Let me count the reasons…

Download the movie