Beginning in January, the county will begin placing cameras in 50 school zones over the following 18 months, and after a 30-day grace period, drivers will be mailed a $40 fine if caught by the devices, officials said. The tickets will not add points to a driver’s license.
The cameras are permitted under a new state law that allows counties and towns to place them near schools. Opponents of the cameras believe they are a government intrusion on privacy and an unfair way to raise revenue. But Prince George’s leaders had made passage of the state legislation a top priority this year. The cameras will discourage speeding and free up police officers to focus on “much more serious crimes,” said Jim Keary, spokesman for County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D).
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