The Surveillance State

Wherever you go in Arizona someone is watching you:

For years Arizona has been known as the “sunset state,” but lately some residents simply call it the “surveillance state.”

“They track us everywhere we go,” says Phoenix resident Shawn Dow. “It’s unbelievable. I can’t go anywhere and not have a camera tracking me.”


Dow is now trying to change all that with a ballot initiative this November that would ban all ticket cameras in Arizona.

“I’m tired of being constantly watched,” he said. We’re all being tracked like cattle.”

In 2007, Arizona became the first state in the country to install ticket cameras state-wide, meaning there are cameras on most state highways; there are cameras at many intersections; and there are camera-vans videotaping on side streets.

The owner of any car caught going over the speed limit or running a red light receives a ticket by mail.

“This is all about safety,” says Jay Heiler, an executive at RedFlex, the company that manufacturers most of the state’s ticket cameras. “If you enforce traffic laws you are going to get more compliance with them, and when you get more compliance with traffic laws you get more safety.”


Heiler points out that 240 communities in 21 states now use ticket cameras to “modify driver behavior.”

“That’s not to say from time to time there isn’t a level of government somewhere that also deploys the technology having analyzed its revenue generating capacity.”

According to Dow, that’s exactly the problem, he says the cameras are less about making the roads safe than they are about taxing Arizona drivers.

“Study after study shows that these cameras increase rear end collisions,” he says. They do not improve safety. That is a big scam. All they want to do is take your money.”

Dow points out that RedFlex, which pockets half the fine of every ticket, is based in Australia. He says much of the revenue stream generated from the tickets isn’t even staying in Arizona. “It’s an outrage,” he says.

I don't like traffic cameras at all. I'm surprised they haven't been ruled unconstitutional because you're supposed to have the right to confront your accuser in court, but how can you challenge a machine or cross-examine it?

I hope this guy's initiative is wildly successful and spawns similar measures around the country. The fact that the company is making money on each ticket tells you that there's a financial incentive for them to make sure that they generate as many tickets as possible. If communities want to use cameras they should be required to buy them and retain all fines themselves rather than paying a third party.