Cameras Snap 12,000 Motorists Running Red Lights

City surveillance cameras designed to catch drivers running red lights are working overtime, police officials said Monday.

More than 12,000 motorists have been cited at the eight intersections where cameras were installed starting in January. That compares with 25,000 citations issued by police officers last year at the other 4,300 intersections in Los Angeles.

“It appears to be very productive,” Los Angeles Police Sgt. John Gambill told a City Council panel.

More important, though traffic collisions are up 10% citywide this year, they have dropped at five of the eight intersections with still cameras, Gambill said.

The department is beginning to see a drop in the number of people photographed running red lights at the eight intersections, a sign that the program is working, he said.

Gambill’s comments came as police officials announced that the contractor providing and operating the cameras has reached an agreement with the city on the remaining seven intersections to receive them.

The contract with Affiliated Computer Services called for cameras to be added at 16 intersections by Aug. 1 of this year. Eight of those have been installed, and one is close to being installed. But the firm had delayed selection of the last seven intersections while it conducted a survey to identify those with the most violations.

Cmdr. Mark Leap said cameras will be operating in the 16 intersections by April 1.

“We are making progress,” Leap told the council’s Public Safety Committee.

The firm also sought to change the way it is paid, from a fee per ticket resulting in a conviction to a flat fee.

Responding to the delays, council members asked last month for a report on whether it had legal recourse against the firm. Leap said the payment issue was set aside temporarily while the firm and police focus on identifying the remaining intersections.

Officials are expected to announce the new locations within a month. Engineers are still studying whether cameras are feasible at three of the intersections.

Cameras are now at these intersections:

* Sherman Way and Winnetka Avenue;

* 3rd Street and Vermont Avenue;

* Imperial Highway and Figueroa Street;

* Wilshire and Westwood boulevards;

* Victory and Laurel Canyon boulevards;

* 6th and Alvarado streets;

* La Brea Boulevard and Rodeo Road;

* and Sepulveda and National boulevards.