Palm Bay drivers demand refunds after faulty school zone cameras generated $700K

Drivers demand refunds over faulty school zone cameras

A now-defunct school zone camera program in Palm Bay generated more than $700,000 in less than a year before being shut down, city records show.

PALM BAY, Fla. - A now-defunct school zone camera program in Brevard County generated more than $700,000 in less than a year before being shut down, city records show.

What we know:

FOX 35 News submitted a public records request to see how much the money the city made on the school zone ticket program. On Wednesday, the city shared the information breaking down how many tickets were issued, how many people paid and how much profit the program made before it was canceled.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX LOCAL APP

The program generated $781,709 in total. This was split between the state, city, vendor and school board based on breakdowns in state law. The City of Palm Bay made $347,535.

Over 7,840 paid the $100 ticket they received in the mail. People are frustrated with this because the program’s been full of problems. Wrong citations were sent out, and the cameras were incorrectly installed. 

That came to light after a FOX 35 investigation. The city took the cameras down after that and suspended the program but still profited from thousands of earlier tickets.

What we don't know:

City officials have not said whether drivers will be refunded for tickets issued under the flawed system. Police said the funds will go toward public safety, but no specific projects have been announced. It also remains unclear how much of the $347,000 the city might be forced to repay if legal challenges are raised.

The backstory:

The cameras were installed to catch speeding drivers in school zones, but the rollout quickly became controversial. Reports of incorrect citations raised questions about the program’s accuracy, and FOX 35 uncovered that the cameras may have been placed too close to the roadway, a possible violation of state law. Roughly 8,000 tickets were ultimately thrown out.

What they're saying:

Some drivers think everyone should be refunded because the cameras weren’t trustworthy.

"It makes my stomach cringe," said Christy South who got a $100 ticket but fought it in court. "I think they should refund every ticket that was issued."

Others think the money should go to better police patrols near schools.

"Putting a physical police officer in the area would solve the problem," said Christofer Piedra who doesn’t support AI ticket cameras.

Palm Bay police told FOX 35 in a statement: "The funds will be used for public safety initiatives, but at this time they have not been allocated toward anything specific."

SIGN-UP FOR FOX 35'S BREAKING NEWS, DAILY NEWS NEWSLETTERS