RED LIGHT CAMERAS
www.highwayrobbery.net


Email Address
Site Index

If you haven't already done so, please read the West Hollywood  section on the Camera Towns page

City of  West Hollywood Documents

Docs Set # 4
WeHo's Former Business Rules (Guidelines?)

As of 2005

Vehicle Code Section 21455.5 requires that a city shall develop "uniform guidelines for screening and issuing violations."  We have obtained a copy of WeHo's document entitled "Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System," and at first glance it appears to be the sort of document required.  However, the document (below) still may not be what is required by law - 21455.5(d) says that the development of the guidelines may not be contracted out to the supplier of the cameras, and the language of WeHo's Business Rules is full of indications that it was written by the supplier.

Note:  The document that follows was made from the City's original via optical character recognition (OCR).  Some errors may have occurred.  Additionally, the document may be out-of-date.  If you want an up-to-date copy of the original Business Rules, file a public records or Discovery request with the West Hollywood city attorney.

Edits by highwayrobbery.net are in double square brackets [[  ]] .

City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 1]]         

West Hollywood Business Rules

As per the West Hollywood Sheriff and the City of West Hollywood, the following guidelines will be met prior to providing the Sheriff with images taken by the WH RLC System:

 •           Vehicle must enter the intersection; any vehicle whose BACK tires are ON or PASSED the second line of the crosswalk will be forwarded to the Sheriff.
           You must be able to reasonably identify the features of the driver’s face in first or second photo.
           The Minimum Red Time showing on the first image will vary from location to location, SHOULD BE AT LEAST.01. If you notice the minimum red time is less than .01, report to Program Manager to ensure all settings are checked.
           The Sheriff has determined that the minimum vehicle speed must be 15mph or greater before we forward the image. If the violation reflects a lower speed, than required, report to Program Manager to ensure all settings are checked.
           All information in the data box must be clearly legible.
           Multiple vehicles can be forwarded to the Sheriff per a photo.
           Out of State plates will be forwarded to the Sheriff.
           One person can receive more than one citation per a day.
           Possible violation images can be sent to the Sheriff where the “plate” and “driver” photos are saved from the first shot if not able to save from the second shot.
           Send emergency vehicles to the Sheriff in the form of a special incident report.
           On duty police or sheriff vehicles will be forwarded to the Sheriff in the form of a Special incident report.
           City vehicles will be forwarded to the Sheriff.
           Off-duty law enforcement personnel in personal vehicles will be forwarded to the Sheriff.
           All E plated vehicles will be forwarded to the Sheriff.
           All passengers will be blocked prior to the images being forwarded to the Sheriff.
           Commercial vehicle drivers will not be blocked prior to being forwarded to the Sheriff.
           Photo viewing by appointment, must be scheduled 2 days prior to the appointment date. Appointments are held on Thursday’s 9:30 am to 11:30 am.
           All special circumstance appointments must be forwarded to the Sheriff for arrangement.

 ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THE WEST HOLLYWOOD BUSINESS RULES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE PROGRAM MANAGER WHO WILL IN TURN CONTACT THE SHERIFF FOR CLARIFICATION.

Per the City of West Hollywood and the West Hollywood Sheriff, each camera will be visited by a Field Service Technician on a tri- weekly basis. During each visit the film will be retrieved, the camera will be tested, the triggering mechanism will be examined, and the settings will be checked to ensure optimum operating performance. Upon discovery of any malfunction or irregular functioning of the camera the Sheriff and Program Manager will be notified immediately for further direction. All unscheduled service, maintenance, or visits to the camera will be logged and the Sheriff and Program Manager will be notified prior to each. 

City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 2]] 

STANDARD VIEWING PROCEDURE

 Are you in the correct deployment, on the correct photo, and does the information on the picture match the information in Citeware? i.e. date, time, location, speed, and photo number.

At the initial viewing of the violation first check the first and the second photos for a possible violation.

Determine the following:

•           Is the violation date within the legislative time period? Per the West Hollywood sheriff the citations must be mailed within 11 days of the violation date.
•           Is the data box information complete and legible? If yes continue, if not immediately record the location, date, time, photo #, and notify the FST supervisor or your supervisor that there is an issue with this camera.
           Are there multiple violations occurring in the current violation. If so immediately check the multiple violation box at the bottom of the Citeware screen.
           Which vehicle according to the data box triggered the camera, is this the vehicle that entered the intersection? If yes continue, If no contact your work leader and/or supervisor. The Sheriff is to be notified immediately by the PM upon determination that the system may not be working correctly.
           Does the information in the data box match the criteria for the Sheriff has set forth with regards to possible violations? Yellow time, red time and speed? If yes continue, If no contact your work leader and/or your supervisor. The Sheriff is to be notified immediately by the PM upon determination that the system may not be working correctly.
           Is there an actual violation; did the vehicle cross the second white line after the light turned red? If yes continue, If no save the error tab and correct category code. * Refer to category list.
           Is there a front plate? If yes continue, If no save the error tab and correct category’ code. * Refer to category list.
           Is the driver identifiable? If yes continue, If no save the error tab and correct category code. * Refer to category list.

Saving Images:

After you have determined that there is a valid violation, save the four images using the following guidelines:
           Ensure that the camera/film scan settings are set so that optimum lighting is being saved.
           The first two environment photos should clearly show the data box, the vehicle at the stop bar after the light turned red and the vehicle progressing through the intersection. These photos should be saved sight enough to see the flash blooms on the pavement in front of each flash unit.
           The Plate shot should be centered, zoom on the plate and adjust the light in order to show legible numbers and if possible the make/emblem of the vehicle. It is always more important to have clear, defined numbers on the plate than it is to capture the vehicle emblem.
•           For out of state the Sheriff allows us to precede [[proceed]] only if the state is clearly visible, if visible select the correct state abbreviation. If the


City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 3]]

state is not clearly visible the Sheriff requires that the image be rejected as “Out of State.”
           The face shot should capture the vehicle emblem and the face of the driver, however this is the face shot and the face is the most important part of this image. The face must be clearly defined and, at least 65% visible. Adjust lighting to ensure an optimum picture. It is always better to save this picture lighter rather than darker.
           At this point make sure that the passengers are blocked and continue with entering data.

Entering Data

After all four images have been saved you must now enter the data pertaining to your violation:
           Ensure that the location description, officer, equipment, and direction are correct.
           Ensure that the violation section, date, time, photo number, frame, and weather are correct.
           Enter the category “Issued”, which allows us to forward the image to the Sheriff upon completion.
           Enter the Vehicle make and style, i.e. the first four letters of the vehicle make and the two-letter style code. Note if there is any question as to the make or style of the vehicle you must place a question mark “?“ after the discrepancy. * Refer to vehicle make and style guide.
           Enter the vehicle plate number. Double and triple check that you have not miss-typed the plate number. If you have a question as to the correctness of the plate, it is imperative that you enter (PLT?) in the vehicle make field.
           Enter the vehicle color; this may be the actual color or light, medium or dark.
           Lastly enter the state of the vehicle (refer to Add-on’s section for out of state) and the gender of the driver.

Before saving the images and data ensure that all fields have been entered correctly, that all four photos have been saved, and that all passengers have been blocked.

           Save images and data and continue on to the next photo

DMV Procedures

Also refer to “DMV Tips” in the Add-on’s section.

After all violations have been captured, the possible violations must now be processed through DMV using the following guidelines:

           Under the CA Lookup screen in Citeware you will find a list of violations ready to be processed through DMV. Double click on the first violation record and Citeware will retrieve Registered Owner and Driver information from the DMV databases.

What do I look at first?

           Ensure there are no (?) or (PLT?) placed in the vehicle make field. If there is, pay special attention to the vehicle make and style that DMV retrieves from their database. If you encounter discrepancies you must immediately go into Browser and look at the problem area in


City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 4]]

an effort to determine whether or not the information entered is correct or incorrect. If you determine that the issue is not discernable the sheriff requires that we dispose of the images using the appropriate category code. If the issue is correctable, enter the correct information and re-lookup the violation record.

           Once you have a vehicle match, check to see if there is a Release of Liability on file. If there is check the transfer and registration date to make sure they occurred prior to the violation date. If they do, obtain the missing information from the post office, then copy ROL and DL query the new Registered owner.
           If the transfer and registration dates are later than the violation date you must send the address saved must be that of the current registered owner.
           Now that you have information to work with you need to compare the registered owner information with the driver information.

Under registered owner, DMV will give you the names of all registered owners for the plate in question, make sure the gender of the registered owner you are looking at matches the gender that was inputted into Citeware. If it does not match choose the correct gender and look at the photo in browser to make sure no mistake has been made.

If there is only one registered owner for the vehicle and the gender does not match that of the driver, the Sheriff requires that we send the violation record to the registered owner on file with the DMV.

Run a DL Inquiry:

Now that you have the driver and registered owner information you must confirm that they match exactly. The names and addresses must be the same in order for you to continue. If the address’s are similar for example:

            Driver                          Registered Owner

            John Doe                     John Q Doe
            1123 Fairmont             1123 Fairmont Apt 303
            LA CA 92122               LA CA 2122

Fix the obvious problems by making both addresses the same, but first confirm with the post office for an existing address. You must be extremely careful at this stage, the differences that you see must be obvious mistakes made at the DMV. Never change anything unless you are absolutely sure that the change can safely be made. Remember the same name does not mean that it is the same person.

In the case that you are unable to match the registered owner information with drivers license information it will require 2nd level dmv. You will need to write the violation record number down and continue with the next violation record. Your list of no-hits should be given to the TSA Work Leader for a second level DMV lookup after you have finished.
           If you are given the choice of a P0 Box or a street address choose the P0 Box. Confirm with the post office for existing address (city matches zip code).
           If you are given an address with C/O in it, DELETE the C/O section and use the RO’s name.


City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 5]]

           Once you have verified that the addresses match between the RO and the DL you must verify that there are no symbols in the name or address fields; symbols such as: @ - # $ % ^ & * ( ) +  = . Likewise, verify that there are no numbers in the name fields, for example: Joe Smith 2nd (in this case the 2nd should be changed to “II”.)
           After you have verified that there are no anomalies in your violation record make one last quality check, and save the violation.

These rules apply to 1st & 2nd level DMV as well as to Section D DMV procedures.

Emergency Vehicles

DO NOT ISSUE TO EMERGENCY VEHICLES, THE SHERIFF REQUIRES US TO DISPOSE OF THE IMAGES USING THE APPROPIATE CATEGORY.

Official Vehicles

           If DMV does not provide you with an address because the owner works or is affiliated with a government agency you must look up the local address for the agency that the vehicle belongs to. There is a book in the office, which lists all government agencies in the area. Enter the information manually and click on the copy RO tab, then save the.

Second Level DMV (Special DMV)

There will be instances when you will not be able to get drivers license number or address match with the corresponding registered owner information, depending on the situation use the following guidelines:

If, through normal DMV you are unable to get a drivers license number, the plate must be run through a second level of DMV. When doing special DMV follow these guidelines:
           First open the California Lookup screen and choose your first violation record.
           Open the special DMV screen using the Special DMV icon on the desktop.
           At the screen type DCS and then press enter.
           At the screen press Shift + Control + Z (This clears the screen).
           The following set of instructions should be entered without any spaces or depressing the enter key:
           Type R60 and then enter one of the following account codes:

            WH       62926   WLA 65565       MTA H6484
            BH        62076   OX    62489
            BP        65525   SFS  65550

           Now type DSC8
           Type A for a passenger vehicle or C for a commercial vehicle
           Now type the plate number of the vehicle
           Press enter


City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 6]]

The screen will now give you information regarding the RO and DL information attached to this vehicle plate, if there is any. Use the Fl key to scroll down and the F2 key to scroll up to see all information.

Once you have retrieved information

If the special DMV retrieves a driver’s license, highlight and copy the driver’s license into your regular DMV screen, now run a DL query. If correct information is retrieved save the information and continue with the next violation record, if you do not retrieve information, or the information is incorrect, there are several steps that can be followed that may help retrieve correct information:
           Remove all but the first letter of the first name and run the query again.
           Repeat this step with each of the name fields.
           Remove the middle name and re-run the query.
           Swap the last name and the first name.
           Remove the zip code and re-run the query.

If the second level DMV retrieves the same DL that was originally retrieved by Citeware, however, the address still does not match, you may copy the registered owners address into the drivers field so that both sides of the DMV screen match. This may only be done If you query the DL# in both DMV’s and they match in both DMV’s.

If all of these steps fail, click on the copy RO tab and send the violation record without a driver’s license.

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE THE WEST HOLLYWOOD SHERIFF DOES NOT REQUIRE US TO DL INFORMA TION IF IT CANNOT BE FOUND. THE VIOLATION RECORD MUST BE SENT TO THE SHERIFF FOR FINAL DETERMINA TION OF ISSUANCE.

Verify Violation records

The next step is a process where your job is to verify the accuracy of the information saved down in all previous steps.
    •           Enter the “Verify” (icon) screen; at the top portion of the screen, to your left you will notice there is some limited information regarding the violation photos. This information should include location, date, time, direction etc. This is the first information you will verify for correctness. The information showing on the top left of the screen must match the information in the data box of the first two photos.
    •           The next step is to check all four photos to make sure that they have been saved down correctly.
    •           Next check the quality of the photos use these guidelines:
        •           Did the vehicle proceed through intersection?
        •           Is the plate legible?
        •           Can you see 65% of the face?
        •           Is the face photo saved light enough?
        •           Are the data boxes legible?
        •           Are the passengers blocked?
        •           If a commercial vehicle, is the driver blocked?
 

City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 7]]

                    Confirm that the red seconds and/or yellow seconds do not display 000.
                    Is there an actual vehicle speed, should not display a V-- , has the minimum speed requirement been met.
                    Is the vehicle an emergency vehicle?

If there are any issues with the quality of the photos that cannot be fixed in this stage, cancel the violation to the most appropriate category. * See category list
    •           You must now input the plate number into the plate field, if the plate number can not be determined follow these guidelines:      
        •           If it remains red - roll it back to re-lookup; chances are that the plate was entered incorrectly during the viewing stage.*        
        •           If the photo is missing - roll it back to (re-view.)* 

(Inform the work leader and fill out the Violation Record Rollback Log found in the U: drive)*

    •           Once the plate information has been entered we need to verify that the driver and vehicle information is correct according to the images we are looking at, use the following guidelines:
        •           Does the make and color match the vehicle?
        •           Is the year and style correct?
        •           Is there a Drivers License number? A Drivers License is not necessary for this client until further notice.
        •           Is the name correct — last, first, middle?
        •           Is there an address and zip code?
        •           Are there any symbols or numbers that should not be present?
        •           Does the gender match?
        •           If a business, is the driver blocked?

If, for any reason, any one of these components are missing or incorrect, the violation record will be sent back to DMV or View so that it may be done correctly. On the bottom right of the screen there is a tab that will allow you to send the violation record back to re-lookup or to re-view, choose whichever applies to your situation.

If all the information is correct choose the issued category and save the violation.

West Hollywood Printing Procedures

    •           After the verification step, the violation records will be placed to the status of 670 “Pending Police Approval”. The LA County Sheriff’s Department will approve or disapprove the violation records via Citeweb.
    •           Once the violation records are placed on the status of “Ready for 1st Mail” they are ready to be printed and are now officially citations.
    •           One Notice to Appear is printed per record number “A citation.”
    •           Follow these steps to print the citations the Sheriff has requested that we mail:
        •           Open Citeware and select the WH database.
        •           Go to the Tools menu and select Letters and Reports.
        •           Scroll down and select “Print Ticket Batch Report” click the Print tab. (The batch will display the approving officer’s name).


City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 8]]
 

        •           Scroll up and select “Certificate of Mailing” at Ticket Batch ID enter the corresponding batch number and the Court ID. 1 = Adult 2 = Juvenile)
        •           Click on the Print tab.
        •           Scroll down and select “Citation Transmittal” enter the corresponding Batch ID and Court ID number and click on the Print tab.
        •           Go to the Process menu and select Issuance.
        •           Click on the Print tab and on series of OK’s — Prepare Defendant Copy (Do not print Court Copies).
        •           At Status Update click on Yes.
        •           You must repeat the above for Juvenile citations. (Court ID 2)

West Hollywood Quality Check Procedures

1          Check the Violation Date/Time and confirm that the citation is going out on time. If any citations are late, notify the TSA work leader and/or supervisor.
2          Check the birth date to confirm whether it is an Adult or Juvenile citation.
3          After checking the above, confirm that the appropriate court is printed on the citation.
4          Check to see if the appearance date falls during the week and not on the weekend.
5          Confirm the date and time on the citation matches the databox information.
6          Confirm that name & address match RO & driver information and that a driver’s license and DOB appear. Information will not match if it’s a Sec D.
7          Confirm the vehicle description on the citation matches the vehicle in the photo.
8          Confirm that the plate matches the information and the image saved in the citation.
9          Confirm that all passengers have been blocked; driver has been blocked for commercial vehicles only.
10         Confirm that the citation number is appropriate for that particular account.
11         Confirm that the citation number is listed on the Citation Transmittal form and that the totals add up on all the forms including the Certificate of Mailing.
12         Ensure the correct Instruction Sheet is included
13         Sign the Citation Transmittal form to confirm the above has been checked.

Mailing Procedures: 

    •           The ‘Violator’ copy is mailed, along with the West Hollywood Instruction Sheet.
    •           The court will only receive a copy of the Certificate of Mailing and the original Citation Transmittal.
    •           The Juvenile Court receives the same documentation that the Adult Court receives.
    •           A copy of the Citation Transmittal is kept for our files.

Folding Machine Instructions:

WH, BH, and OX - Make sure that before you begin you turn off the Return Envelope slot (Tray 4) by pressing the In Service button.
    •           The Base Module of the machine should display Ready to Run Job No. 1


City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 9]]

    •           Place the citations in the feeder - Tray 2
    •           Place the instruction sheets in the feeder - Tray 1
    •           At the base module press the Trail Piece button (This will run 1 citation, if there is an error press Stop and make the correction, once corrected the base will display Ready to Run, press the Start button
    •           If any citations/instruction sheets remain in the deck, press the Clear Deck button. ( This will run any sheets left behind all the way through)

Note:    The Base Module will notify you of any errors that happen while running the decks, the process will stop and the tray number in which the error occurred will be displayed. 

Postage Machines Instructions:

    •           At the machine on top of the table, enter the corresponding account code
    •           Press enter 5 times
    •           At the Postage Machine, insert the envelopes and press on the Start button
    •           Once all envelopes have received the postage, press on the Funds button, keep track of the “Available” amount in a sheet of paper
    •           Press the Enter button

 Creating a Stamp Using Tape (Usually for envelopes sent to the court)

    •           Weigh the envelope, lb. And amount displays at the very top right hand corner
    •           At the Postage Machine, press the Clear button
    •           Enter the amount given and press Enter ( Make sure that 3 dashes display on each side of the amount)
    •           Press the Tape button, the stamp will print out

Account Codes: BH=1    WH=2   LA Cnty=3 OX=4
            MTA=5     SecD/Various=6         Metro Iink =

West Hollywood Location Codes

3103 EB Beverly & Robertson

3104 WB Beverly & Robertson
3111 NB Fairfax & Fountain
3112 SB Fairfax & Fountain
3113 EB Fairfax & Fountain
3121 NB Crescent Heights & Fountain
3122 SB Crescent Heights & Fountain
3123 EB Fountain & Crescent Heights
3124 WB Fountain & Crescent Heights
3131 NB Melrose & La Cienega
3132 SB Melrose & La Cienega
3133 EB Melrose & La Cienega
3141 NB La Brea & Fountain


City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 10]]                      

3142 SB La Brea & Fountain
3143 EB Sunset & La Cienega
3144 WB Sunset & La Cienega
3151 NB Fairfax @ Santa Monica
3152 SB Fairfax @ Santa Monica
3153 EB Santa Monica@ Fairfax
3154 WB Santa Monica @ Fairfax
3161 NB La Brea @ Santa Monica
3162 SB La Brea @ Santa Monica
3163 EB Santa Monica @ La Brea
3164 WB Santa Monica  @ La Brea

Contacts:

Deputy Zenon Porche
310-855-8850     ext 505
Fax (323)415-4706

Photo Viewing - Thursdays 9 - 11 am
LA County Sheriffs Department
720 North San Vicente
West Hollywood, CA 90069 

Los Angeles Superior Court West Branch Beverly Hills
9355 Burton Way Room 300
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-860-0070
8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Nora Rodrigo-Ramirez — Traffic Supervisor
310-288-1243

Portia Sanders
310-288-1289

Santa Monica Court Juvenile Division
1725 Main Street, Room 300
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Pamela Davis or James
310-260-3738
Fax 310-278-9631


City of West Hollywood Business Rules for the Red Light Camera System
[[Page 11]]  

Red Light Camera Enforcement
Court Information

 
General Information
 
Night Court: There is no night court available
Walk In Hours: 8:30 - 9:00 am
Parking: $4
Bilingual: English and Spanish - Interpreter available upon request
Bail Due Date: Failure to post bail by due date will increase the amount by $250

Payments

Method of payment: By mail, phone, or in person
What to include: Copy of the citation, citation number and driver’s license number written on the check and/or money order.
Payments by Phone: You will need your credit card and drivers’ license number (including the expiration date).

Traffic School

Payment: Additional $29 must be added to the bail amount
Request Traffic School: In person, by mail, or by phone contact the court
Notification: Defendants are not notified but they can call the court clerk to obtain information
Extensions: Granted, need to contact the court
Traffic School Course: 60 days [[This may be a typo - traffic school is 8 hours]]

Extensions:

Request an extension: In person, at a court appearance, by phone by contacting the court
Length of extension: 30 days, 2 extensions granted - after 2 a court appearance is required
Bail Impacted: No
By Mail: State reason/s why and until when they need the extension

Trail by Declaration

Process: Bail must be submitted prior along with a letter requesting the trail. The court will send you a package by mail.
Notification: By mail, from the court
Trails Viewed: By the commissioner when they are received


[[END]]

 
Note:  The document above was made from the City's original via optical character recognition (OCR).  Some errors may have occurred.  Additionally, the document may be out-of-date.  If you want an up-to-date copy of the original Business Rules, file a public records or Discovery request with the West Hollywood city attorney.

Edits by highwayrobbery.net are in double square brackets [[  ]] .

 


---------------------------------
RED LIGHT CAMERAS

www.highwayrobbery.net
www.highwayrobbery.net