PALM BAY, Fla. — The Palm Bay Police Department on Wednesday suspended the school zone speed enforcement camera program for the rest of this school year.

"As stewards of public trust and safety, it is our responsibility to ensure that any system used to support public safety functions with complete accuracy, reliability and transparency," the department said in a statement. "Until we can guarantee consistent performance, we have determined that it is in the best interest of our city and its citizens to suspend the School Zone Speed Camera program."

Palm Bay police acknowledged that the program "has experienced several issues which have caused concern and do not meet the standards we expect for any program implemented in our community."

Police will continue to work with the company that produced the cameras to resolve the problems with them and will consider reinstating the program after improvements have been made, the statement said.

Fifteen schools in Palm Bay, primarily elementary schools where parents pick up their children, have the cameras installed along the roads outside the schools to try to get drivers to follow the speed limit in the school zones to protect students. The department started the program after police officials said some children going to and from school had been struck by vehicles in the zones.

Palm Bay had paused the program in February after some drivers complained of incorrect fines or speeding infractions on days when schools were closed. During an audit, police found glitches and ended up refunding or dismissing incorrect violations because of the errors. In late March, it reactivated the program, indicating the issues with improper ticketing had been resolved.

Drivers continued to complain after the program was reactivated, saying they were not speeding, that they received violations outside the school zone hours and on days when schools were closed and that some tickets were for violations in Miami-Dade County, which is hours south of Palm Bay. 

School zone cameras are supposed to operate in the time frames set by the Brevard County school district. The school zone times can vary depending on the school, and arrival and dismissal times differ for elementary, middle and high schools. City officials say the cameras were scheduled to activate 30 minutes before and after school hours.

The program was designed to trigger violations when vehicles go at least 11 mph over the speed limit.

“I support the concept of the school zone camera program and its goal of encouraging safer driving behaviors around our schools through a civil administrative process that doesn’t impact driver’s licenses with points," Palm Bay Mayor Rob Medina said. "However, given the recent inconsistencies in the accuracy of information, I believe it’s appropriate to pause the program once again. Our children are our most precious resource, and we must ensure any initiative designed to protect them is implemented with the highest level of integrity and reliability.”

Drivers who received violations from the school zone speed enforcement camera program can pay the violation online, by phone or through the mail. They also can request a hearing date for a magistrate. The details can be found on the Palm Bay website or by containing RedSpeed at 1-877-204-0867.