This op-ed was signed by the police chiefs in St Louis and Kansas City:
As Police Chiefs in Missouri’s two largest cities we constantly struggle with the question of how much manpower to dedicate to the most dangerous and deadly intersections in our communities.
We know that having officers at these intersections improves safety and helps prevent drivers from running red lights, which can all too often end in tragedy. However, that means resources are diverted from other beats and combating crime in other areas of our cities.
A number of years ago, leaders from both St. Louis and Kansas City made these decisions easier for us by passing local red-light camera safety ordinances. This allows our departments to leverage technology so we may focus attention on other high crime areas. We know that these cameras change driver behavior in a way that makes intersections safer for our drivers, pedestrians and families. This is yet another example of law enforcement using technology to save lives and operate more efficiently.
On hundreds of occasions, these cameras have also assisted our departments in investigating not only accidents but helping solve other crimes, including murder, theft and assaults. Police need additional tools, like these cameras, to help us solve crime.
Unfortunately a series of inconsistent and unclear court rulings have left many cities across our state unclear on how to proceed with enforcement of these ordinances. Many municipalities, like Kansas City, have temporarily halted their program, which means that resources are once again being diverted away from problem areas to dangerous intersections.
Critics will go to great lengths to attempt to paint red light cameras as legally questionable. Speaking on behalf of every officer that has worked a serious crash caused by a red-light runner, there simply is no legal or constitutional right to run a red light. It puts innocent victims in danger and is a threat to our loved ones. The camera systems are funded by violators and not taxpayers. A vast majority of the general public obeys traffic laws and therefore doesn’t pay the cost of these programs.
What law enforcement across our state really needs right now is for the Missouri Supreme Court to take up these various red-light camera cases on appeal and provide cities the guidance we need to enact and enforce our local ordinances. It is our hope that our state’s highest court will see the value in giving cities the clarity we need to move forward.
The temporary suspension of some of these programs is already affecting public safety. In December, after the red-light camera enforcement was suspended, Kansas City saw a 48% increase in events captured by the cameras compared to the year before, when police were issuing red-light camera citations.
Cameras are still operating in St. Louis and have resulted in safer roads. Traffic fatalities in St. Louis dropped 19% from 2010-2012 and total crashes dropped 12%, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports.
As police chiefs we are doing everything we can to make our great cities safer. We thank our local elected officials and the Missouri Municipal League for standing with us and giving us more tools, like red-light safety camera technology, that allow us to use our manpower in the most efficient and effective way possible. Now we hope the Missouri Supreme Court will agree to hear these red-light camera appeals so that cities like Kansas City, St. Louis and other cities can enforce the very ordinances we know will save lives and improve public safety.
Police Chief Darryl Forte, Kansas City, Mo.
Police Chief Sam Dotson, St. Louis, Mo.