I’m not a fan of them and in my opinion the main reason for their existence is to generate revenue. It’s far less expensive to operate a camera as compared to a uniformed officer.
If anyone follows the BBC show Top Gear there was a segment on there in which the number of accidents was compared in a certain area. The statistics were the same with the cameras up and running and after the officials decided to turn them off.
Regarding private prisons, that’s been a real thorn in the side of OK for many years. The Dept. of Corrections is constantly whining for more operating money while importing prisoners from other states. Not too long ago there was yet another riot at a private prison here and if memory serves me correctly, these prisoners were from New Mexico. One of the previous riots involved prisoners from Hawaii…
Locally, a prisoner released here some years ago abducted, raped, strangled, and stabbed a 6 year old girl to death after being released and the news reports stated that he was one of those “imported prisoners” from Minnesota.
Personally, I believe each state should take care of their own rather than raising my taxes constantly to pay for the upkeep of the imports.