PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Rachel Scaife says her mother doesn’t live in Portsmouth, and didn’t realize she was going through a school zone when she got a ticket Dec. 13 outside I.C. Norcom High School.
“And I started looking it up and I saw everything that said it was going to go into effect Jan. 1,” Scaife said. “Originally it was December first, I think, but they changed it to January. So, I told her to hold off, you know, at least call first.”
When she called the third party company dealing with the speeding tickets, an operator told her mother she still had to pay the $100 ticket.
However, 10 On Your Side received an email Wednesday from Lt. Jeffrey Branch with the Professional Standards Unit, saying the trial period for these cameras was extended to Dec. 31 and anyone issued a ticket before then should disregard it. The Portsmouth Police Department canceled citations from Dec. 4 through Dec. 31 that came as a result of the School Zone Camera Project.
Individuals who received warnings will not have to pay, but starting on Jan. 1, new violators were expected to receive citations.
“It’s very frustrating,” Scaife said. “It’s like, why wouldn’t they immediately send out something saying that it’s a mistake, disregard this?”
The police department revealed there were over 5,000 violations in school zones from Nov. 12-18.
“These numbers are alarming,” Portsmouth Police said in an email. “We are encouraging all those who travel in our city, especially, near our schools to slow down and use caution.”
And though Scaife’s mother paid the $100 fine, she thinks her mother should be refunded that money, and said there must have been miscommunication between the decision-makers and those writing the tickets.
“I think that’s what happens, honestly, when they’ve got this outsourced to another company that’s just going to set up these cameras and take these tickets,” Scaife said, “and the communication is definitely not there.”