CAMERAS HIKE TRAFFIC TICKETS JURY STILL OUT ON INTERSECTION SAFETY EFFECT.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

City officials have issued 12,000 red-light citations under an 11-month-old photo-enforcement program and say they have begun to see a decrease in collisions at the intersections with cameras.

The number of tickets generated with cameras at just eight intersections this year is equal to about half the number issued by all officers patrolling 4,300 intersections last year, police officials told the City Council's Public Safety Committee.

Plans to install the cameras at 16 intersections citywide are now back on track after delays by the contractor because of a projected shortfall in revenue.

Cameras have been installed at eight of those 16 intersections, and the rest should be in place by April 1, according to Los Angeles Police Department officials.

``It's a little too early to make a decision'' on whether use of cameras significantly reduces collisions at the intersections, said Sgt. John Gambill of the Traffic Coordination Section. ``But from my personal observation - based on 28 years experience and 20 in traffic - it appears to be very productive,'' he added.

Last month, the contractor, Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services Inc. - which this year bought the Lockheed Martin subsidiary running the program - sought changes to its contract because of a projection that it would not issue enough tickets to cover its costs.

But after the city threatened to sue, ACS officials agreed to honor the contract and said they would raise their concerns when the current contract expires. They agreed to install cameras at intersections chosen by the LAPD, despite their concern that those would not produce enough citations.

ACS officials said Monday it was too early to tell if the company is losing money on the contract.

``We are moving ahead with the current contract,'' said project manager Raymond Pedrosa.

The 12,000 citations issued represent about 52 percent of the suspected red-light violations captured on film, LAPD officials said. Many of the photos are rejected, mainly because the driver's face or license plate is not clear in the photo.

The citations carry a $271 fine, with $60 going to the contractor.

With the 12,000 citations issued, the city has had a 78 percent success rate in court with guilty pleas or verdicts, a rate similar to that for tickets issued by officers. By comparison, the entire LAPD patrol force issued about 25,000 citations last year for red-light violations, Gambill said.

The cameras so far have been producing limited success in reducing the number of collisions at intersections, Gambill said.

Traffic collisions are up 10 percent citywide this year, he said, but there has been a reduction at five of the eight intersections with cameras.

The rate of red-light violations at intersections with cameras peaked in August and has since been declining, he said.