t******4
发帖数: 2300 | 1 大家就悠着点开车吧。 不要肥了他们！
LYNNWOOD, Wash. (AP) - Traffic-enforcement cameras were first installed here
in 2007, and ever since Lynnwood police have insisted that the
controversial program is all about safety. This week, Chief Steve Jensen
conceded the city depends on the millions of dollars it gets from tickets,
and if the money disappears he'll be laying off cops.
He also has asked for an outside investigation into whether two key officers
, including a deputy chief who is Jensen's domestic partner, crossed ethical
or legal lines in their dealings with the for-profit Arizona company that
operates the cameras.
The program started out targeting traffic scofflaws and still does, but
revenue -- more than $4 million in 2010 -- has come to fuel Lynnwood's
ongoing devotion to the cameras, Jensen said.
His admission came in an interview about emails obtained by The Herald
through a public-records request. The emails depict two members of his
department engaging in what Jensen called "not smart" correspondence with
American Traffic Solutions Inc.
A deputy chief earlier this year asked the company about job prospects, even
as she opened negotiations about renewing Lynnwood's multimillion-dollar
camera contract, which expires in November.
Separately, the sergeant who leads Lynnwood's traffic division offered the
Scottsdale, Ariz., company help with marketing cameras to other cities and
with lobbying against legislation that would have reduced revenue from
camera tickets in Washington.
None of that should have happened, Jensen said.
Lynnwood's ethics policy prohibits police and other officials from creating
even the appearance of a conflict of interest, the chief said. He's asked
Everett police to conduct an internal investigation on his department's
behalf to ensure officers haven't engaged in misconduct.
"I can guarantee you there is no collusion with ATS, or anyone getting
financial gain or whatnot -- that would really surprise me," Jensen said.
The chief asked for an outside agency's help to avoid a conflict of his own.
Deputy Police Chief Karen Manser, who wrote the email about job prospects,
is the chief's longtime partner. They share homes in King County and Arizona
. City officials have publicly acknowledged the relationship for years.
Manser and Jensen and others from the city traveled to Arizona in May for a
conference hosted by American Traffic Solutions. Those who attended from the
police department paid their own travel expenses, Jensen said.
Manser on March 26 wrote to an ATS official, saying that she'd be at the
conference. Her email pointed out that the company's $648,000-a-year
contract with Lynnwood was set to expire in November.
"Let me know when you might be available to chat about it on the phone,"
Manser wrote. "I would like to get ahead of the game on getting it ready for
renewal."
Manser then added a postscript noting that the company reportedly was doing
well and that she was hoping to move soon.
"If you have any idea if I might qualify for something with ATS let's talk.
Thanks!"
This week Manser said she never applied for a job with the camera company
and has no plans to.
"If you are looking for something evil out of this it doesn't exist," she
said in an email.
Manser said she long ago decided that she wanted to leave Lynnwood for
Arizona, and she applied for work at several police departments and
companies there. She also said that aside from the initial email and some
follow-ups, contract negotiations have been handled by others at the city,
including finance and purchasing officials.
Jensen said he doesn't believe Manser did anything inappropriate but views
what she wrote to the camera company as "not smart."
"I would prefer that wasn't written there," he said.
Meantime, Jensen and others among the department's top brass said they were
surprised to learn that Sgt. Wayne "Kawika" Davis, who supervises the
traffic unit, had been using city resources, including email, to offer
himself for marketing on behalf of American Traffic Solutions.
While inviting the company to participate in a motorcycle officers' trade
conference, he also asked to be put in touch with the camera company's
marketing department.
"I have some ideas that really could market ATS in WA, ID, OR and Canada,"
he wrote on May 19. "I know you are already in some of those areas; however,
there is a lot more business to be had."
Jensen didn't know about the marketing offer, he said. Neither did Deputy
Police Chief Bryan Stanifer, who oversees the department's internal
investigations.
"That will be addressed," Stanifer said Tuesday.
Davis also recently became involved with the Washington Council of Police
and Sheriffs, a law enforcement lobbying group. In emails, he volunteered to
be a voice for the organization in encouraging legislators to promote
traffic-enforcement cameras.
Revenue from the cameras is keeping cops on the job, Davis wrote in February.
"ATS has our backs and the interest of all our cities involved. In addition,
the City of Lynnwood itself and the Lynnwood Police Department must also do
everything we can to ensure this program continues unhindered. Any negative
change to the program means more layoffs and program cuts," Davis wrote.
Davis sent copies of the emails about lobbying to a representative of the
traffic camera company, plus Jensen and other Lynnwood police supervisors.
The Herald earlier this year reported on how traffic-enforcement revenue in
Lynnwood far outstripped that of any other local government, and how 75
percent of tickets came from cameras. Davis responded at the time with a
guest commentary. He extolled the safety benefits of cameras and downplayed
the significance of ticket revenue.
Manser this week said that inside the police department, she and others have
long connected camera revenue to preserving police jobs.
Jensen said that wasn't the plan -- it just worked out that way.
The city's love affair with cameras started innocently enough, he said. It
was people on the City Council who first suggested the technology as a means
to tackle serious traffic problems, including red-light running and
speeding in school zones.
The city offered itself as a test community for cameras in Washington but
wasn't chosen. Once state lawmakers approved the devices in 2005, Lynnwood
began pursuing the idea.
Ticket revenue from cameras didn't come up as a motivation, Jensen said.
But the money started flowing just as the city's other revenue streams, such
as sales taxes, began to dry up.
Over time, the camera revenue became a bigger and bigger portion of the city
's general fund. Most cities in Snohomish County draw 1 percent to 4 percent
of revenue from traffic enforcement. About 16 percent of Lynnwood's
spending in 2010 was covered by traffic tickets, most of which came from
cameras.
If the city gave up the cameras now, Jensen said, he could expect to lose
seven or eight officers.
The department already has lost nearly a quarter of its cops in the past
year. Some left expecting layoffs, others jumped ship.
This year, the city is looking to make deep cuts to cover a projected $3.5
million revenue shortfall by the end of 2012. Mayor Don Gough also wants the
city to set aside another $1.9 million to ensure its long-term financial
survival.
Police say their data is inconclusive on whether the cameras are reducing
crashes at intersections where red-light cameras have been installed.
Crashes increased in some locations and are down in others.
What role the cameras will continue to play is unclear. A draft of a new
contract with ATS has been prepared for the city's signature.
Lynnwood so far in 2011 has seen a dip in revenue from camera tickets
compared to 2010, Jill O'Cain, the city's municipal court administrator,
recently told other city officials.
She hopes that's because people are driving differently.
Jensen said he thinks drivers now are more cautious in Lynnwood.
What's clear is that Lynnwood needs the money camera tickets bring in, the
chief said.
"Right, wrong or indifferent, it is a significant piece of the revenue
puzzle," he said. | l*******u
发帖数: 12906 | 2 traffic上能找的碴不少吧
俺刚刚得了ticket
说tint的太黑了
here
officers
ethical
【在 t******4 的大作中提到】
: 大家就悠着点开车吧。 不要肥了他们！
: LYNNWOOD, Wash. (AP) - Traffic-enforcement cameras were first installed here
: in 2007, and ever since Lynnwood police have insisted that the
: controversial program is all about safety. This week, Chief Steve Jensen
: conceded the city depends on the millions of dollars it gets from tickets,
: and if the money disappears he'll be laying off cops.
: He also has asked for an outside investigation into whether two key officers
: , including a deputy chief who is Jensen's domestic partner, crossed ethical
: or legal lines in their dealings with the for-profit Arizona company that
: operates the cameras.
| V**********1
发帖数: 24381 | | l*******u
发帖数: 12906 | 4 警察非说超了
【在 V**********1 的大作中提到】
: 不是有规定不能超过多少percent的吗？
| V**********1
发帖数: 24381 | | l*******u
发帖数: 12906 | 6 要求改正，然后接受再次检查，没说要罚多少钱
【在 V**********1 的大作中提到】
: 罚单贵吗？
| V**********1
发帖数: 24381 | | l*******u
发帖数: 12906 | 8 找了当初做tint的shop，他们已经给我重做了
【在 V**********1 的大作中提到】
: 那要重做？我正考虑Tint新车呢
| V**********1
发帖数: 24381 | | l*******u
发帖数: 12906 | 10 没收，和俺一起骂警察
【在 V**********1 的大作中提到】
: 不另收钱吧？
| | | V**********1
发帖数: 24381 | | l*******u
发帖数: 12906 | 12 用点你文绉绉的词骂骂看
【在 V**********1 的大作中提到】
: 嗯 我加入骂群
| V**********1
发帖数: 24381 | 13 需要关爱的警察永远找不到他们自己需要被关爱的地方
你看这样可以吗？ | l*******u
发帖数: 12906 | 14 警察的智商不足以听懂
【在 V**********1 的大作中提到】
: 需要关爱的警察永远找不到他们自己需要被关爱的地方
: 你看这样可以吗？
| V**********1
发帖数: 24381 | | l*******u
发帖数: 12906 | 16 英文的来两句如何？英文咋说微醺？
【在 V**********1 的大作中提到】
: 那我就不会了，我又不能擦擦擦的
| V**********1
发帖数: 24381 | 17 不知道，一定要翻译，我只能用spirit moment |
|
