DiscoverThe Big StoryThe speed camera chopper gets away with 16 Toronto takedowns...were they justified?
The speed camera chopper gets away with 16 Toronto takedowns...were they justified?

The speed camera chopper gets away with 16 Toronto takedowns...were they justified?

Update: 2025-09-12
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Being its victim stings pretty bad, but is the hurt worth a criminal record?

One - or several - speed camera vandals took to the streets of Toronto this past week, making their mark and message on radar technology loud and clear, damaging 16 over the span of one night. And not to mention, the vandals' most sacred target, the Parkside Drive camera that was vandalized 7 times in less than a year.

Ontario's Premier denounced the radar technology, calling it a cash grab, and saying he wants them gone from cities. However, safety advocates are sounding the alarm on Ford's comments, calling them dangerous and out of touch.

Although dozens of citizens took to social media to share their gratitude for the vandals' Robin Hood-esque style, it begs the question of how far can criminal activity be mimicked and celebrated before it goes too far?

Host Richard Southern speaks to Jacqueline Helfgott, a criminology and forensics professor at Seattle University to break down the intersection of media, crime, and notoriety that perpetrates what she calls 'copy-cat crime'.


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The speed camera chopper gets away with 16 Toronto takedowns...were they justified?

The speed camera chopper gets away with 16 Toronto takedowns...were they justified?

Richard Southern