EDMONTON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today released its brief on the use of photo radar, presented to Solicitor General Heather Forsyth. Entitled "Public Protection, not Revenue Collection," the brief urges the Alberta government to amend legislation to require municipalities to use photo radar only for promoting safety.

In the 2000-01 fiscal year alone, governments collected $62,619,555 from Alberta motorists for traffic violations. The provincial government does not track how much revenue is generated via photo radar tickets. All revenues collected from photo radar fines are returned to the municipality where the photograph was taken. The province's Photo Radar Guidelines, introduced in 1999, require municipalities and police forces to limit the use of photo radar to "high-risk" locations such as schools, playgrounds and construction zones.

"Unfortunately, there is no legislation in place to ensure that municipalities and police forces actually adhere to the Guidelines, nor are there penalties for non-compliance," stated John Carpay, CTF-Alberta director.

"There is no independent, unbiased body to adjudicate citizen complaints about photo radar being used improperly, in violation of the Guidelines. No legislation prevents a municipality from setting a speed limit that is unreasonably low, or placing photo radar at locations which are not 'high-risk'," added Carpay.

"Municipalities and police forces have a direct financial interest in using photo radar to raise revenues. But policing decisions should be based solely on the safety and security needs of the community."

Carpay called on the Alberta government to remove the conflict of interest which now exists between public protection and revenue collection. "All money generated by traffic violation tickets should go into the province's General Revenues, without any of this money going back to municipalities. Or, in the alternative, revenues from traffic fines could be collected and periodically refunded to those Albertans who have not been convicted of a traffic offence. Policing should be funded only by taxes."