SAN DIEGO -- San Diego's red-light camera program is illegal because it is run for profit, defense attorneys said Wednesday, but prosecutors argued the program is lawful and an important tool in catching scofflaw motorists.

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Cameras Create Accidents, Opponents Say

Attorneys representing 290 people ticketed at one of San Diego's 19 red-light camera intersections are asking Superior Court Judge Ronald Styn to throw out the citations and declare the program to be illegal.

Defense attorneys told the judge that the city of San Diego illegally entered an agreement with a private vendor, Lockheed Martin IMS, to run the red-light photo enforcement program.

Attorneys claim that the program is a violation of police power because it is operated for profit, not for public safety.

"They're profiting based on a very unsafe condition. The unsafe condition existed before the cameras were present," defense attorney Coleen Cusack said. "But the cameras themselves encourage and facilitate this very unsafe condition."

The fine for running a red light at one of the photo enforcement intersections in San Diego is $271, which is set by the state. Lockheed Martin reportedly gets $70 for each ticket paid.

The $271 fine represents one of the steepest tickets in the country.

City: 'It's Totally About Safety'

Deputy City Attorney Linda Peter told the judge that the red-light camera program is supported by police, who don't have the manpower to patrol every intersection in the city.

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SOUND OFF Red Light Cameras: Good Or Bad?

"It is totally about safety," the prosecutor said. "From the very beginning, it's been about safety."

Officials said that the red-light cameras are used in more than 40 cities across the country, but only in San Diego has the outcry been so strong.

Lockheed Martin and the city of San Diego made $1.75 million each on the nearly 44,000 tickets generated by the red-light program between July 1, 1999, and June 30, 2000.

An ex-Lockheed Martin employee testified on July 5 that his former company normally put the red-light cameras at intersections with a downhill slope where motorists couldn't or wouldn't stop.

Defense attorneys also contended that engineers have shortened the time a yellow light stays on at certain intersections.

The attorneys also claim that the city illegally sends citations to the registered owners of vehicles if they can't make out the driver in the photograph generated by the red-light camera.

All red-light cameras in the city of San Diego have been turned off while an inspection of the entire system is carried out.

Motorists who were issued citations at three intersections where problems were found had their tickets dismissed.

Those intersections are 16th and F streets downtown; Black Mountain Road and Mira Mesa Boulevard; and Ingraham Street and Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach.

Styn said that he would rule on the defense motions soon after receiving additional documents from prosecutors on July 25.

If you'd like more detailed information on the red light cameras, you can call the city information line at (619) 533-5604.

Here is a list of red light camera locations throughout the county, courtesy of PowayOnline.net:

City Of San Diego Camera Locations

College Area

College Avenue S/B to E/B Montezuma Road
El Cajon Boulevard W/B through 43rd Street

Downtown

A Street E/B to 163 Fwy (10 Street)
F Street W/B through 16th Street
Harbor Drive S/B to E/B Grape Street

Kearny Mesa

Aero Drive W/B to S/B Murphy Canyon Road

Mira Mesa/Miramar

Black Mountain Road S/B through Gemini Avenue
Black Mountain Road S/B to E/B Mira Mesa Boulvevard
Mira Mesa Boulevard E/B through Scranton Road
Miramar Road W/B through Camino Ruiz

Mission Beach/Pacific Beach

Garnet Avenue W/B through Ingraham Street
Garnet Avenue E/B to N/B Mission Bay Drive
Mission Boulevard S/B through Garnet Avenue
Mission Bay Drive N/B to W/B Grand Avenue

Rancho Bernardo/Carmel Mountain

Bernardo Center Drive N/B to W/B Rancho Bernardo Road
Carmel Mountain Road E/B to N/B Rancho Carmel Drive

San Ysidro

Palm Avenue E/B through Beyer Way

South Bay

Harbor Drive W/B through 32nd Street

South San Diego

Imperial Avenue W/B through Euclid Avenue

University City

La Jolla Village Drive W/B to S/B Towne Centre Drive

Additional San Diego County Camera Locations

El Cajon

Broadway W/B through Mollison Avenue
Fletcher Parkway W/B to S/B Magnolia Avenue
Fletcher Parkway W/B to S/B Marshall Avenue
Fletcher Parkway N/B to W/B Navajo Road
Main Street W/B through Mollison Avenue
Washington Avenue W/B to S/B El Cajon Boulvevard

Poway

Camino Del Norte E/B through Pomerado Road
Poway Road W/B through Community Road
Poway Road E/B to N/B Pomerado Road
Scripps Poway Parkway E/B through Pomerado Road
Ted Williams Parkway E/B to N/B Pomerado Road

SOUND OFF: Red Light Cameras: Good Or Bad?