Outsourcing red-light traffic control

The Wall Street Journal reports that many cities are overburdened by "time-consuming and complicated tasks" and thus elect to outsource these duties to companies. Typical examples include "auctioning off unclaimed stolen goods, unloading unwanted supplies and collecting unpaid traffic fines."

In Columbus, Ohio, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. is hired to handle "the entire process" of running the city's red-light cameras, "including capturing the visuals of the violator, cross-checking with databases from motor-vehicle departments, verifying that a violation was committed," and "mailing out the citation and collecting the fine." In exchange, the company "receives about 40 percent of the actual fines collected."