TRAFFIC CAMERAS

TRAFFIC CAMERAS. By a 6-1 vote, members of the Dubuque City Council voted to approve forward with the use of cameras to track license plates on vehicles moving around the city.

The license plate reader system would include twenty-two cameras distributed throughout the community at nine major intersections and entrances into the city. These cameras would record and track the license plate data but would not have the ability to detect vehicle speed. Police would be able to this this information in criminal investigations to run searches of license plates through the system and partially track when and where a vehicle moved through the city. The council had previous approved $73,000 for the implementation of the system, but wanted more information on how the readers would operate.

The policy controlling the system demands that stored footage and license plate data would have to be deleted after ninety days unless it was considered as evidence in an ongoing investigation. Audits of the system would be made monthly to ensure it was being used properly. (1)

On roads with a speed limit less than 45 miles per hour and undivided highways with a 45 mph speed liits, fines began for vehicles detected traveling at least 11 mph over the speed limit. Pm divided highways when a speed limit of 45 mph or higher, fines started after vehicles had exceeded the limit by at least 16 mph. (2)

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Source:

1. Kruse, John, "City Proceeds with License Plate Readers," Telegraph Herald, August 8, 2023, p. 1

2. "Biggest Local News Stories of 2023," Telegraph Herald, January 2, 2024, p. 1A