PALM BAY, Fla. – The Palm Bay Police Department has paused its school zone speed cameras from issuing violations amid what it says are community concerns spurred by system glitches.
Police temporarily stopped the system from issuing violations over the past week, the police department said in a Thursday news release. Officials said they made the decision after getting community feedback.
Police referred to the issues as incorrect violations caused by glitches impacting some school zones once the cameras went live. No further specifics were given beyond the police department promising “to align all school zones with school schedules and state regulations.”
Those impacted have been notified via email, police said.
First and foremost, we want to apologize for the frustration and stress the implementation of this new project has caused. We understand your concerns and we hear you. As with any new system or project, there are growing pains, but we have worked diligently to pinpoint and address the root cause of these issues. Our commitment to fairness, accuracy, and consistency remains our top priority as we continue to fine-tune and improve the system. Rest assured, we are actively working to align all school zones with school schedules and state regulations.
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The Palm Bay Police Department immediately contacted the company that installed the cameras and conducted a thorough audit. During this process, we discovered glitches that had impacted some school zones. We took swift and decisive action to correct these errors, ensuring that any incorrectly issued violations were either refunded or dismissed. Those affected were sent notifications via mail. Additionally, we have completed a comprehensive review to prevent these issues from recurring. To make clear, there is full oversight of this program and the issuance of violations by Palm Bay Police Department’s Traffic Unit.
Palm Bay Police Department - "School Zone Speed Camera Project" - Feb. 27, 2025 (excerpt)
Ahead of their implementation, the cameras — provided by the company RedSpeed USA — were said to spot anyone going more than 10 mph above the speed limit in an active school zone and to have those findings reviewed by a traffic enforcement officer, after which the plan was to send violators $100 tickets in the mail.
Eileen Sepp, a Palm Bay resident, has been against adding cameras in the area since the beginning of the school year.
“For me, it’s always been a money-making deal. Just another tool for the municipality to make money,” said Sepp.
She also questioned the clarity of school zone markings.
“Nobody likes getting hit with a ticket, especially if it’s not clear,” said Sepp. “Like take this road, for instance. Does anything in the road say school?”
Sepp believes there’s a more cost-effective way to prevent people from using cell phones and speeding in the area—such as adding more signs in the median, on the roadway itself, and in other areas around the school zone.
“I don’t think anybody wants to kill kids, but if they don’t know if they’re in a school zone or approaching one, that’s a problem. Plus, you can’t miss those. They’re 8 inches wide,” said Sepp.
Palm Bay Police say they are verifying that all school zones are properly labeled and that the flashers are working. Once they fix the errors and verify everything is in place, the cameras will be reactivated.
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