PDF: Red Bank
Red Bank Mayor Joe Glasscock hears everything about his city's traffic cameras -- they infringe on constitutional rights, they prevent business growth, they malfunction on the job.
But the city's most controversial piece of technology still has a staunch defender in the mayor.
"There is no privacy anymore," he said. "If people won't obey the law, they must be punished, and one of the only ways to do it is through surveillance.
"We have our right to use cameras the same as a drug store, grocery store, bank or anybody else who's got surveillance," he said. "We are protecting our premises from wrongdoers and lawbreakers."
Replacing the cameras with more police officers on the city's roads would require a tax increase, Mr. Glasscock said, which he does not want to impose on city residents.
"We can't keep an officer on every busy corner 24 hours a day," he said.
But some area residents feel the cameras marginalize basic rights.
"You have the right to defend yourself and cross-examine your accuser," said Joe Dumas, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. "But it's kind of hard to cross-examine a box. They can't even prove you're the driver. That flies in the face of fundamental principles of American justice."
STATE LEGISLATURE BATTLES
The controversy over Red Bank's cameras extends outside the city limits. The city recently approved a 12-year contract extension with American Traffic Solutions -- the private Arizona company that supplies the city with photo-enforcement cameras.
At the same time, the Legislature is proposing a moratorium on new traffic cameras statewide and wants to study the issue.
Last week, Rep. Phillip Johnson, R-Pegram, said that Red Bank's recent contract extension with American Traffic signified an attempt to "(get) ahead of the game" in the face of a moratorium.
"We were already in negotiations prior to that moratorium," Mr. Glasscock said. "We didn't have a good opt-out clause, and we weren't getting what we thought was our fair share of return."
Rep. Richard Floyd, R-Chattanooga, said it was within Red Bank's rights to renew an existing contract, but his problem is with traffic camera companies in general.
"My biggest issue with cameras is giving power to an unsworn officer of the law," said Rep. Floyd. "A camera company is a company making money off of our people, and they're not a sworn officer of the law."
SAFETY OVER REVENUE?
Where are Red Bank's cameras?At three intersections with Dayton Boulevard: Ashland Terrace, Morrison Springs Road and Signal Mountain Road.What do they look for?Drivers running red lights, speeding excessively through intersections or failing to stop before turning right on red.What is the fine?$50 plus $10 for court costs.
Citing statistics that showed a 19 percent drop in Red Bank accidents over the course of three years, Mr. Glasscock stressed that safety, rather than revenue generation, is the main impetus for keeping cameras at three of the city's busiest intersections.
"All we're doing is enforcing the state law," said Mr. Glasscock. "We're doing what we think is necessary to protect our citizens from overaggressive drivers."
He said business is thriving in Red Bank, despite what Vice Mayor Monty Millard recently called "negative publicity" from the impact of the cameras.
"The fact that we've only got 41 or 42 storefronts empty out of 400-and-something tells us that not many people are afraid of the cameras," Mr. Glasscock said.