PoliceOne says that a 60% percent success rate is far (20%) below expectations:

Los Angeles’ $15 million high-tech camera system designed to catch red-light runners let four in 10 violators off the hook last year because the drivers couldn’t be identified, according to police data.

In other words, the cameras are highlighting another control gap — 40% of drivers suspected of violating a traffic law also operate without proper registration:

Police say they have made progress in the past few months in finding the drivers and ticketing them. They also note that glare from windshields and license plates interferes with about 2 percent of the images.

But they emphasize it’s not the technology that is allowing violators to get away with running red lights. By far the biggest obstacle to ticketing violators, they say, has been outdated or unidentifiable car registrations.

Security metrics are funny that way. You might find 40% of your suspects are getting away because they are using bogus identities, but this is not just a 40% failure. Knowing that bogus identities are prevalent is far better than not knowing and so the system is actually performing an important detection role where none existed prior. This is not a positive spin as much as an example of surveillance systems giving better information about identity controls and weaknesses.