INSIDE the Lakeland Police Department

Updated RLC FAQs

With all the attention being given to the Red Light Camera (RLC) violation notices arriving in the mail now that our cameras are live, I thought it might be beneficial to reissue an updated document of Frequently Asked RLC Questions (FAQs).

Perhaps the most commonly asked question we are getting today is how can someone pay their fine. Directions are found on page two of the Notice of Violation that outlines the payment options, which include:

1. Pay online at www.ViolationInfo.com and logon with your Notice # and Pin # shown in the red box on the front of the notice. There is a $4.00 convenience fee.

2. Pay by phone by calling toll free 1-866-790-4111 between 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST. There is a $4.00 convenience fee.

3. Pay by mail by sending a check or money order (payable to the City of Lakeland) using the envelope enclosed with the Notice of Violation. DO NOT MAIL CASH.

Please note that payment is not accepted at the Police Department or City Hall.

Owners can view their violation images and video online at www.ViolationInfo.com using their Notice # and Pin # found on the front of the Notice.

The Notice also outlines two ways someone can contest a violation notice they received. Follow the steps carefully to ensure to you meet the timelines established for contesting a violation.

Of course the best course of action is to come to the complete stop at a stop light. The most common violation we are seeing are rolling right turns on red with the vehicle not even coming close to a complete stop on a red signal. 

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Ensuring Accuracy of Red Light Camera Citations

A Letter to the Editor in The Ledger today told of an incident in which a car's owner received a citation for allegedly running a red light in another community even though the car that was ticketed reportedly had never left the garage. While I cannot speak for the facts of this referenced case, I do feel it is important for the public to understand the process used by LakelandPD to ensure accuracy in our red light camera violations.

Our officers are really the second layer of quality control as the RLC company focuses on accuracy up front. The company rejects violations at the front end of the process if the tag on the image does not match the vehicle make/model on the tag registration check. We never get to see those events. But assuming one slips through, our officers also validate the tag seen in the video and the registration check match. Here is the process they use.

Officers reviewing RLC cases first look at a before and after image of the event to validate the car's positioning at the time the traffic light turns red constitutes a violation. The officers then look at an image of the tag and compare it to the tag run by the RLC company. This is where we ensure accuracy of the citations. The tag on the video image must match the tag listed as being run for a registration check. Errors at this stage result in no violation citation being authorized.

Upon confirming the tag in the photo matches the tag being run, officers then verify the car's registration matches the vehicle caught running the red light. It is only after these steps are completed do our officers view the streaming video to watch the entire violation occur. Officers at that point then determine if a violation occurred or not.

It is important to remind folks that anyone receiving a violation citation in the mail is able to log into the Internet-based system and see their violation, including the tag on the vehicle caught running a red light.

These steps are designed to eliminate as much as possible the chance that an owner will mistakenly receive a red light camera citation. Now having said that, we certainly understand that a mistake may occur. We want to correct any errors caused by us not correctly matching the tag seen in the video image with the tag registration run by the company.

We expect the error rate, however, to be very, very small.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Red Light Camera Citations

The headline of an article in The Ledger this morning reported red light cameras yet to yield any citations. To the casual reader, one might interpret this to mean the cameras have failed to catch anyone running red lights. That is certainly not the case.

We previously posted that citations would be delayed as we send our officers through training to learn how to work the software to review events and determine if a violation occurred. That training was conducted this past Wednesday.

A verbal report at our daily staff meeting this morning indicated almost 1,500 "events" were captured by the red light cameras and forwarded to LPD for review since the cameras went live June 1 at five different locations around the city. An "event" is any incident that might be a "violation" of the red light ordinance. There may be numerous reasons why an event is captured by a camera. It then becomes the responsibility for a police officer to review each event and determine if a "violation" occurred.

There is a specific process that occurs when a recorded event is processed by the company before being sent to LPD for review. That might take a week or so to complete. Once LPD processes the event and determines a violation occurred, the company still has additional work to do before a citation is mailed to the owner of the violation vehicle. It might take up to 30 days to get a citation in the mail from the date of the original event - all told, a reasonable period of time for the work involved in processing events and violations.

Not all events will end up being violations, but talking to some officers who began processing events this week suggests the vast majority of events are found to be a violation and warrant a citation.

To those who were caught running red lights by one of our cameras but think you got away with a violation because you have not yet received a citation, all I can say is stand by - your citation will be arriving at your mailbox soon.

Just be patient with us - these things take time to complete.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Red Light Camera FAQs

With the "go live" date of our new red light camera enforcement program less than a month away, the City of Lakeland has compiled a list of frequently asked question about these cameras.

Follow the previous link to the FAQ document or visit the City's web site to learn more about the red light cameras.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Red Light Camera Update

Our most recent update on the installation of red light cameras in Lakeland listed locations and direction of travel for these cameras. Installation work continues as does our educational efforts via local broadcast outlets to remind drivers these cameras are just around the corner.

Having said that, please don't call us on June 2 and ask how many drivers "we caught" the day before. The cameras are set to go live on June 1 and will begin recording suspected violations for us to review. However, the camera system vendor wants to collect about a week's worth of data before our initial training sessions where our officers will learn how to process the violations. The vendor wants to use actual violations in our community to conduct the training. That training is scheduled for June 10.

If you run one of the red lights at the intersections being recorded by these cameras, you can expect to receive your violation notice in the mail shortly after that date.

Want to avoid receiving such a violation notice? Stop on red cameras ahead.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Stop on Red Cameras Ahead

Red-light running is an increasingly dangerous and costly problem that is plaguing the streets of our country. Lakeland has joined the ranks with other communities and will soon have a camera enforcement program designed to reduce the number of violations, crashes, and injuries caused by red-light running.

The objective is to make the community safe and to have drivers obey the traffic signals by stopping on red. Starting June 1, 2009, first offenders caught by the cameras will be charged a $125 fine for running red lights. The first phase of Lakeland's camera program will cover five intersections.

- NB Socrum Loop Road @ E. Daughtery Road/Walt Loop Road
- WB E. Daughery Road/Walt Loop Road @ Socrum Loop Road
- SB Socrum Loop Road @ E. Daughtery Road/Walt Loop Road
- NB Socrup Loop road @ Old Combee Road
- SB Socrum Loop Road @ Old Combee Road
- NB N. Florida Avenue @ Memorial Blvd.
- NB S. Florida Avenue @ Beacon Road
- NB Cleveland Heights Blvd @ E. Edgewood Drive
- SB Cleveland Heights Blvd @ E. Edgewood Drive

Red light cameras will capture two images of the offending vehicle - one showing the vehicle before entering the intersection on a red light and one showing the vehicle proceeding through the intersection on red. A video is also made of the violation. The images are reviewed and the violation confirmed by an officer with the Lakeland Police Department.

Owners of vehicles photographed running red lights receive a Notice of Violation and are subject to fines. Those who receive a Notice of Violation can obtain additional information or view their violations and video online at www.violationinfo.com. Citizens can also call toll free 1-800-790-4111, if they have questions.

We encourage all drivers to slow down and stop on red.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Update on Red Light Cameras

We continue to move forward with the red light camera project for Lakeland. Installation of the cameras is just around the corner, and so an update report is probably in order at this time.

The cameras are expected to go live on June 1, 2009. Enforcement will begin at that point. An educational campaign to inform drivers of the cameras' locations is scheduled to kick off in April and May. We want drivers to know about the cameras in the hope that no violations will occur! (Of course we are realistic about this and expect to issue a large number of violation notices at the beginning.)

After much research into which intersections need the cameras and considering installation challenges at each location, cameras will be located at the following intersections:

- Northbound Socrum Loop Road @ E. Daughtery Road/Walt Loop Road
- Westbound E. Daughtery Road/Walt Loop Road @ Socrum Loop Road
- Southbound Socrum Loop Road @ E. Daughtery Road/Walt Loop Road
- Northbound Socrum Loop Road @ Old Combee Road
- Southbound Socrum Loop Road @ Old Combee Road
- Northbound N. Florida Avenue @ Memorial Blvd.
- Northbound S. Florida Avenue @ Beacon Road
- Northbound Cleveland Heights Blvd @ E. Edgewood Drive
- Southbound Cleveland Heights Blvd @ E. Edgewood Drive

We will keep posting updates as the project moves toward implementation with our goal still to save lives by reducing red light running in our community.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Lakeland City Commission Gives Final Approval to Red Light Cameras

The Lakeland City Commission gave final approval today for a contract to proceed with installation of red light cameras (RLC) around the city. The installation should begin around the first of the year and proceed in various phases.

We continue to get occasional letters and e-mails from people who support the RLC concept and from those opposed to these cameras. The reasons for support or opposition remain fairly constant - folks either want to prevent crashes caused by people running red lights or they want to avoid having "big brother" watch them driving around town.

I believe it is worth repeating here - the easiest and most effective way to avoid getting a citation or infraction notice from us is to simply not run red lights. You would think this is easy for drivers to do, but we know different.

Time will tell if the cameras change driver behaviors. We think they will and look forward to working with them once they get installed.

What do you think?

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Update on Red Light Cameras in Lakeland

Update on Red Light Camera Legislation

Legislation to permit communities to install red light cameras on state right-of-way and enforce violations died in the Florida Legislature this past session. Here is an update summary from the City's lobbyist in Tallahassee.

Final Action: HB 351 by Rep. Reagan (R, Bradenton), passed the House Infrastructure Committee 8-0 and the Economic Expansion & Infrastructure Council 12-2, but Died in the Policy and Budget Council. The Senate companion bill, SB 816, passed two committees -- Transportation 6-2 and Criminal Justice 7-0 -- but died with 3 committees remaining. Attempts were made to amend the language onto transportation bills, but those attempts failed.

Better luck next time.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere