Brick Township Police Defend Red Light Cameras [AUDIO]

Those red light cameras continue to spark debate and controversy throughout the Garden State.

As we know, several of the units in New Jersey now need to provide more information to the state Department of Transportation. One town in particular isn’t pleased about this and the police are speaking out.

Brick Township in Ocean County is one of the many that has to conduct a full traffic analysis and submit certifications to the DOT by August 1st. Police Captain John Rein says since day one, they have been diligent in making sure the timing of the amber light was correct under the state guidelines.

He says “as far as I’m concerned, we have done everything we’re supposed to do. We will continue to comply with the state and cooperate fully while this issue is worked out. It’s all about the amber light timing, something we looked into before we installed the very first camera.”

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At issue is whether the amber lights are long enough and until Brick and other towns can prove it is, tickets can’t be sent out to violators. That’s not a free pass for people to run a muck. The cameras are still on and you can still be fined once the program restarts.

The debate for years is that the cameras are just a money grab for cash-strapped towns. Captain Rein disagrees. He says “to all of those critics, why don’t we look at the stats. Although the town and the state made money off the violators, there has been a drop off in repeat violators and we’ve actually been able to prevent accidents or at least solve traffic accidents that are caught on the camera. It’s been a vital safety tool.”

In addition, Rein says “the fines aren’t automated. One of our officers watches the potential infraction and then decides whether or not to send out a ticket. It helps us be where we can’t always patrol.”

Rein tells Townsquare Media they knew this was coming. They were alerted to the fact that the program would be suspended about two weeks ago.

Brick current has three intersections where red light cameras are present: Brick Boulevard and Hooper Avenue; Route 70 and Chambers Bridge Road; and Route 70 and Brick Boulevard. The Route 70-Brick Boulevard camera just began issuing tickets earlier this month.