Beginning next month, Portsmouth drivers will be fined if cameras catch them going too fast through school zones.
The goal of the police department’s School Zone Camera Project is to encourage safe driving when students are in class; the cameras will be active on days when classes are in session, 30 minutes before the start of school until 30 minutes after dismissal.
The cameras have been operational since the end of October as a warning period for anyone going 10 mph or more over the speed limit.
From Oct. 30 to Nov. 13, more than 700 incidents were caught on camera, verified and approved by an officer. As of Nov. 13, no warnings had been mailed.
Starting Dec. 1, each citation will be $100. The infractions are not reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles and will not result in any points on driving records.
In the department’s quarterly update last month, Chief Stephen Jenkins said the cameras were “not intended to be a money-making venture,” instead it is about addressing speeding.
“Photo enforced” signs under speed limit signs will mark the areas where the cameras are operational. The cameras will take video and photographs, recording the speed and license plate. Individuals who receive a citation will have 30 days to contest it.
Jenkins said previously that Suffolk uses similar technology. Chesapeake launched its Speed Camera Program last year and more than 1,400 drivers were caught speeding in two weeks.
Earlier this year, Jenkins said the cameras are among some of the new technology being used to improve public safety, such as gunshot detection software and new license plate readers.
Kelsey Kendall, kelsey.kendall@virginiamedia.com
