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Interior
Secretary
Should End Federal Surveillance Camera Effort
Photo Radar Program Undermines Privacy
May 8, 2001
House Majority
Leader
Dick Armey wrote to
Interior Secretary Gale
Norton today [see copy of the letter, below] asking her
to end the
unprecedented federal photo
radar camera
program that began under former Secretary Bruce Babbitt.
"Photo radar"
units
snap photographs of passing motorists for the purpose of
identifying
and
mailing speeding citations to alleged speeders.
"I am concerned that this may be seen as a step toward a
Big Brother
surveillance state, where the government monitors the
comings and
goings of
its citizens," wrote Armey.
The National Park Service proposed a rule last year that
would allow
photo radar units to be activated on park roads within
the Washington,
D.C.
metropolitan area. Once finalized, however, this rule
could be extended
to
cover any of the 5,000 miles of park roads throughout
the country. Such
a
rule would also set a precedent for other federal and
local
jurisdictions to
follow.
"The Park Service, without Congressional approval, is
planning to
turn this into a revenue-raising system that issues
tickets to
motorists,"
wrote Armey.
Two photo radar cameras currently operate in a test mode
on the
George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia. Since
the speed limit
on
this road is set well below the average speed of
traffic, as many as
30,000
motorists a day could receive a ticket in the mail.
Activating these
cameras would clearly generate significant ticket
revenue.
The Park Service took this action despite Virginia
Governor James S.
Gilmore's vocal opposition to the use of such traffic
surveillance
systems
within his state. Armey cited a letter Gilmore wrote to
him last year.
"While there is clearly the necessity to assure public
safety
through effective enforcement of traffic laws, the use
of cameras,
operating
without human judgment reduces our system of justice to
trial by
machinery
without the presumption of innocence," wrote Gilmore.
"I respectfully urge you to review former Secretary
Babbitt's spy
camera program and take the steps needed to protect the
privacy of the
millions of Americans who use and depend on park roads,"
Armey
concluded in
his letter to Norton.
May 8, 2001
The Honorable Gale Norton
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20240
Dear Secretary Norton,
As a conservative, I am distressed by encroachments
upon
our
liberty, however small they may be. For that reason, I
wanted to bring
to
your attention an issue, though small, that I believe
has the potential
to
become a significant privacy concern for the millions of
Americans who
use
park roads.
The National Park Service undertook an unprecedented
expansion of
the use of photographic radar cameras on federal roads
last year. It
first
installed cameras on roads located within the
Commonwealth of Virginia
as
part of an authorized demonstration project. Now
the Park
Service, without
Congressional approval, is planning to turn this into a
revenue-raising
system that issues tickets to motorists.
In essence, what these cameras do is turn the duty and
judgment
of
law enforcement officers over to a machine. Citizens
lose their
constitutionally guaranteed right to face their accuser
in court when
the
due process of law is traded for the efficiency of
revenue generation.
You
can't argue your case to a machine.
People feel the burden where similar systems have been
put
in
place.
In the District of Columbia, for example, red light
cameras
indiscriminately
mail out tickets to mourners involved in funeral
processions and even
ambulances and police cars. Last year, the District
reluctantly
admitted
that it had unfairly issued tickets to at least 20,000
motorists with a
single camera.
I'm committed to doing what it takes to make our roads
safer, but
not at the cost of our fundamental rights. Likewise, I
am concerned
that
this may be seen as a step toward a Big Brother
surveillance state,
where
the government monitors the comings and goings of its
citizens.
Enclosed [Letter not available as
of 10-3-03] you will find a copy of a
letter the Governor of Virginia
sent to me last year expressing his opposition to the
Park Service's
plan.
Not only did the Park Service fail to consult him on
this matter, it
did not
even have the courtesy to notify him when it opened a
public comment
period.
The federal government should not impose this system on
a state that
sees it
as a most unwelcome development.
I have confidence that you will appreciate the privacy
concerns
that
Governor Gilmore and I have raised. I respectfully urge
you to review
former Secretary Babbitt's spy camera program and take
the steps needed
to
protect the privacy of the millions of Americans who use
and depend on
park
roads.
Sincerely,
Dick Armey
Majority Leader
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