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CAMPBELL -- Residents began receiving tickets last week for speeding in school zones, and city officials say it is just the start of their plan to keep students safe.
The Campbell Police Department began posting officers in school zones with cameras linked to a system that automatically distributes speeding citations. But soon, the city will have mounted cameras along the streets near Campbell's school buildings.
Authorities call the problem "mind-boggling" and say they have caught people driving anywhere between 45 mph and 80 mph past school buildings. Police have already issued 700 tickets in just one week.
"We only have two cars on the road at a time, and we can't be in every school zone," said police Chief Kevin Sferra. "If something bad happens at 20 mph, you're probably going to hurt someone, but if you hit a child at 45 mph or 60 mph, you're talking about a death or very severe injury."
The department sent out warnings for the first 30 days, but Sferra said that in extreme cases, like those driving 60 mph or more, officers put the camera down and pulled over those drivers, issuing tickets for reckless operation.
Sferra said the department has already installed stationary cameras at the high school and elementary school. As soon as the cameras are operational, they will begin sending out warning citations for the first 30 days. After that, speeding drivers will get tickets -- $100 for a first offense and the price goes up for subsequent violations.
The city has contracted with Blue Line, the same Tennessee-based company that Youngstown used for its cameras from February 2023 until the city turned them off in June at the end of the school year. Youngstown has not turned the cameras back on because of an unresolved dispute between its municipal court and city administration about how to handle citation appeals.
Like Youngstown, Blue Line will provide the equipment to Campbell and issue all citations from its Chattanooga office, and take a percentage of all revenue from the fines.
Youngstown split the revenue 65% to 35% with Blue Line and collected about $530,000 during the five months the cameras were in operation. Sferra said Campbell will split revenue 60-40 with the company.
He said Ohio law mandates that the money can only be used for school safety.
"It doesn't just go into the general fund or the police budget for us to spend on anything," he said.
Sferra said the money can be used for the upkeep of cruisers used in school zones. But, he added it might be better spent on something like radio antennas on the school buildings because police radios get poor reception in school zones.
He said it could also go toward metal detectors at the buildings or license plate readers that notify police if a passing driver has a warrant or is a registered sex offender, or if the vehicle is stolen so that officers nearby can respond quickly to the area.
Sferra said the police department is working with newly-elected Campbell Municipal Court Judge Mark Kolmacic to determine how to avoid the problems Youngstown encountered.
Sferra said they initially approached a local attorney to serve as a hearing officer for the citation appeals, which Blue Line sends to the city in bunches of 50 at a time. The initial plan was to have the attorney hear the cases one evening every month.
"The Ohio Supreme Court changed it, though, so now it has to run through the court," Sferra said.
Kolmacic said he will consult with his colleague and judicial mentor, Girard Municipal Court Judge Jeffrey Adler, to learn how that city manages its speed camera citations, so Campbell's court docket does not become overburdened by the tickets.
Sferra said some residents have complained that police were running the cameras in areas where there were no flashing lights or posted hours for restricted speed limits. He added those items are not required by Ohio law but that the city will be putting them up to make sure drivers are well aware that they are driving in a school zone because those devices also deter speeding.
dpompili@vindy.com