Residents voice concerns over speed enforcement by guards at Las Vegas community
LAS VEGAS, Nev. May 5, 2022 Some residents in the Rhodes Ranch community voiced new concerns about measures to crack down on speeders and call for greater visibility when security guards wield radar guns and issue tickets.
Concerned resident Dean Taylor shared photos with FOX5 of traffic enforcement. The Rhodes Ranch HOA confirms that security has been enforcing speed limits for years with radar guns.
“When you see a security guard standing out there with a speeding camera, you slow down. The idea is they’re supposed to be on the street deterring speeders, but that’s not what they’re doing. They’ve been hiding, hiding in the bushes, hiding behind trees, hiding behind the electrical box… They’re hiding, allowing people to speed and then giving them tickets for doing so,” Taylor said, concerned that the measures are a revenue generator. The board claims enforcement is not meant for revenue generation.
From speed cameras to speed radar guns, ticketing has become a controversial subject among residents; not only do residents get a ticket, but they also get a fine if their invited guest speeds as well.
Taylor said he brought up his concerns to the board, and said a member countered those claims and believes the security guards were very visible.
FOX5 received the following statement from the Rhodes Ranch HOA and board members:
“There is no ‘entrapment’ with the radar guns. Entrapment is trying to trick or coerce someone into committing a crime. As to the claims of a few residents that the Association’s security personnel are ‘hiding’, the Board does not believe that security personnel hides in any fashion and that the photos sent by you do not show any security personnel hiding.
In the photos where security personnel are leaning against an object or leaning against a tree, they are doing so to steady their hand and/or body while they operate the laser gun, as shaking or swaying will produce inaccurate readings. Standing for long periods of time will cause shakiness and affect the readings from the laser gun.
As to the claim that the Association enforces speeding to generate financial gains, this claim was addressed in the responses provided to you for the preceding news story. The Association is a non-profit entity. It does not generate profits. Any fines generated from speeding is deposited into the Association’s operating account and is used for Association common expenses. The only impact that revenue from fines has on the Association’s finances is that the fines work as an offset to what all of the owners would otherwise have to pay through monthly assessments, including those owners who are actually fined and pay the fine.
For the minority of residents that that oppose the Board’s efforts when it comes to speeding, the simple solution is to not speed. For those that abide by the speeding rules, the laser guns and speed cameras are irrelevant.”
KVVU
