Red light cameras target of vandalsLast Update: 03/27/2007 8:48:22 AM
By: Reed Upton
Somebody who is obviously opposed to the red-light cameras designed to enforce traffic laws have found a new tool to express their displeasure: stickers.
At the intersection of Quail and Coors, somebody has placed preprinted stickers on signs that originally read “Photo Enforced.” Now they read, “Big-Brother Enforced.”
“We don’t find that humorous whatsoever,” comments Albuquerque Police Department spokesman John Walsh.
It’s not the first attack on the cameras that some equate with Orwellian government tactics. Some people have smeared their license plates with goo designed to blur pictures, others have written letters to the editor and yet others have even shot at the cameras with paintball guns.
Walsh says that anyone caught vandalizing the devices can be fined up to $300 and potentially spend 90 days in jail.
Walsh also warns that it’s just a matter of time before the sticker vandals are snagged by the very devices they dislike so much: If someone is vandalizing a camera while the device detects a speeder or red-light runner, they could have their picture snapped.
“They’re running the risk of being caught on the camera themselves,” said Walsh.
“They’re running the risk of being caught on the camera themselves,” said Walsh.
Fortunately, ski mask technology is still available to us lowly citizens.
It could be worse for the .gov, Americans could start doing the same thing the Brits are doing to speed cameras...