Palm Bay Police want $6K more to fight drivers challenging school zone camera speeding tickets

PALM BAY, Fla. - The City of Palm Bay installed traffic cameras in school zones with the intention of helping law enforcement address speeders. Drivers caught allegedly speeding in a school zone get charged a $100 fine.

To date, more than $300,000 has been collected, according to city records. However, according to the City of Palm Bay, more people are challenging those tickets in court than expected, which is requiring more resources – money – from the court, city, and law enforcement.

At Thursday night's City Council meeting, law enforcement is asking Palm Bay City Council for $6,000 more to address the issue.

In May, the use of the cameras was suspended over alleged problems with the technology, as well as concerns with the vendor who manages the cameras, RedSpeed.

In one issue, hundreds of tickets originating from the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office were issued to drivers in Palm Bay, a jurisdiction nearly three hours away.

How will police use the money, if approved?

If the council approves the funding, Palm Bay Police said the money would be used for:

• Scheduling and facilitating magistrate hearings for contested Notices of Violation
• Coordination with the City’s contracted magistrate and legal counsel
• Notification and recordkeeping for citation disputes and appeals
• Staff time dedicated to evidence review, correspondence with violators, and program oversightWhat we don’t know:

Palm Bay City Council has not yet decided if and when it could re-activate the cameras. 

At least one city council member has mentioned that they want the cameras removed. As FOX 35 has previously reported, the company that manages the cameras, stands by the technology, the mission, and their intended purpose.

"Now, we are having to spend money to correct the issues," said council member Chandler Langevin.

What they're saying:

"There’s no way with these traffic cameras to address your accuser. You can’t testify against or question a camera," said Carl Kandiko, who was cited by one of the cameras and challenged the ticket in court. He won his case.

Some have challenged their tickets. Some have had their tickets thrown out, while others had theirs upheld by a judge. Those who argued they were not driving or claimed the flashing lights weren't on did not sway the court.

"I think it’s ridiculous. I think it costs them more money than to actually put cops there to sit there in the school zones," said driver Autumn Faleris. She faced a license suspension for a ticket. She challenged her case in court and won, she said.

Last week, FOX 35 reported on a woman who fought her speeding ticket in court and won. She said the camera reported her speed incorrectly. She brought her own GPS data showing her speed minute-by-minute.  

In response to that report, RedSpeed reiterated that its cameras comply with all state standards, undergoes rigorous testing, performs self-safety checks, and that each ticket has to be reviewed twice by law enforcement before being issued. 

"The speed detection device used in this case fully complies with all state standards. It is independently certified, undergoes rigorous testing for accuracy, and performs daily self-checks — shutting down automatically if any issue is detected," RedSpeed said in a statement.

"Every potential violation is reviewed not once, but twice, by RedSpeed professionals to ensure accuracy before it is forwarded to law enforcement for validation."