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Weis: LIDAR Detectors 'Best Thing On The Market'

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Nov 6, 2009 12:52 pm US/Central

Weis: LIDAR Detectors 'Best Thing On The Market'

Report: Tickets Issued Using LIDAR Speed Detectors Routinely Thrown Out

CHICAGO (CBS) ―

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Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis defended the department's use of high-tech LIDAR speed detectors to catch speeding drivers, despite a news report that those drivers can get their cases dismissed simply by showing up in court to challenge the ticket.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, for the past year, speeding tickets produced by officers using LIDAR detectors routinely have been dismissed in Cook County Traffic Court for any defendant who shows up to contest the citation.

The Sun-Times reported the tickets are being voluntarily waived by city attorneys because of legal challenges to the LIDAR technology. LIDAR stands for "light detection and ranging" equipment.

Traffic Court judges had recently begun ruling in favor of defense attorneys who claim prosecutors must hold a special hearing to prove the scientific basis behind the technology before using it in court.

But Weis said "It's the best thing on the market right now."

"It's a proven technology that law enforcement agencies throughout the United States use. It's a proven tool for us," Weis said at City Hall on Friday. "We know we have to address the issue and that's being handled by our Law Department and the courts, but it is a proven technology and we're going to continue to use it, but we'll make sure that we resolve this through our Law Department and the courts."

Weis said not all officers use LIDAR detectors. Some officers still use traditional radar devices. Tickets issued based on radar detectors are not routinely dismissed.

Weis refused to say whether he believes LIDAR or radar detectors are better, but he did say that radar detectors used by the department are being replaced with LIDAR detectors when the radar detectors outlive their usefulness.

According to the Sun-Times, in most cases when speeding tickets are issued using LIDAR detectors, the drivers simply dispose of the tickets by paying the fine through the mail or going to traffic school.