BEND, OR -- Deschutes County’s District Attorney is calling on local jurisdictions to start using traffic cameras to improve safety on our roads. John Hummel appeared live on KBND's Your Town Monday, telling Frank Bonacquisti law enforcement should be focused on serious crimes like child sex abuse and domestic violence. "I want our police officers working those cases. I want them working all the cases that cannot be enforced any other way than having boots on the ground - you know, real live people doing it. Dangerous roads? We can enforce those with radar and red light cameras." He adds, "We need to post prominent signs on our streets informing drivers that their speed is being checked by radar and that the traffic lights have a camera. If we do that, what’s going to happen? People are going to slow down. People will not run red lights."

While Hummel did not say how such a program would be funded, he believes the technology is cheaper than paying for more police to conduct traffic patrols, "If we want to have the level of enforcement with police officers and Sheriff’s deputies that is necessary to make our roads safe, well, we’ve got to hire a lot more cops and that’s going to require higher taxes. But, we don’t have to do that. We can put up red light cameras and we can put up photo radar."

KBND News reached out to the three largest law enforcement agencies in the county to see if any are considering installing traffic cams. Redmond officials say the city has no plans to install cameras. The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office says it’s not currently under consideration.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz issued the following written statement:

The Bend Police Department is always looking for ways to improve traffic safety in our community, and we are open to exploring any options to achieve that goal.

Automated traffic safety cameras for speed and red light enforcement may have a place in our overall strategy for traffic safety by assisting in specific problematic areas. However, automated traffic safety cameras do not replace police officers assigned to the Traffic Division. Traffic officers are more effective at handling problematic traffic concerns in our community because their enforcement allows for discretion and human interaction during a traffic stop.

While it may seem that red-light cameras and mobile speed enforcement are automated systems, both programs would require additional full-time positions to verify the citations, appear in court, and provide additional support.

The Bend Police Department conducts bi-annual community surveys that are statistically validated. The 2021 survey showed that more than 60% of the community supports Bend PD adding police officers to specifically address traffic enforcement. The same survey showed that 46% of the community supports the implementation of an automated traffic safety camera program. 

The Bend Police Department would be interested in reviewing research on similar communities that have implemented an automated traffic safety camera program to determine its effectiveness in reducing traffic crashes and increasing overall community safety. 

Finally, a program like this would come at City Council direction. While the City Council did not include traffic safety as one of its goals, if it is prepared to fund additional traffic enforcement, the Bend Police Department will evaluate implementing an automated traffic safety program.