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Department of Public Safety Will Take Financial Hit if Prop 100 Fails

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-901306.mp3

Phoenix, AZ – That limit is photo radar. At a press conference Monday, Robert
Halliday said the DPS budget will be cut by $15 million next year
if voters don't approve a temporary one-cent sales tax hike. He
said that means up to 100 fewer officers to respond to accidents
and stranded motorists. But Halliday said he supports the
decision by Gov. Jan Brewer to scrap photo radar on state roads
even though it brings in money and frees up officers from issuing
speeding tickets. Halliday said there's a role for photo radar.

(But when I see a technology that diminishes public trust and is
revenue generated and based, I have a really hard time with that
being a law enforcement professional.)

It was Gov. Janet Napolitano who pushed through photo radar,
arguing it would make roads safer. But Napolitano also figured it
could raise $90 million a year for the state. It didn't quite
work out that way. An audit found only $37 million was actually
collected during the system's first full year of operation. That
still leaves the argument that photo radar promotes lower speeds
and safer roads. Halliday is not convinced.

(I think the statistics are debatable at this point. For the
Arizona Department of Public Safety with regard to our particular
freeway, the empirical data is not there.)

The vote is a week from today. For Arizona Public Radio this is
Howard Fischer.