Tampa Approves School Zone Speed Cameras

- The Tampa City Council approved the agreement with RedSpeed Florida in a 6-1 vote, with council member Bill Carlson casting the dissenting vote. - The program comes at no cost to the city; for every $100 fine collected, Tampa will receive $39. A previously projected revenue of $15 million from an earlier, terminated contract with a different vendor will no longer be anticipated for the current fiscal year. - Drivers will be fined $100 for traveling more than 10 mph over the posted speed limit in the designated school zones. The cameras will be active from 30 minutes before the school day begins until 30 minutes after it ends. - This decision follows a 2023 Florida state law that authorized municipalities to use speed detection systems in school zones. The city had a previous contract for these cameras with American Traffic Solutions, which was approved in August 2024 but mutually terminated in December 2025. - RedSpeed is described as "integrated" with Flock Safety, an automated license plate reader company, which raised alarms about mass surveillance among some residents and council members. Concerns were specifically voiced about the potential for data to be used by federal immigration enforcement, as the Tampa Police Department participates in the 287(g) program, which allows local officers to perform some immigration agent functions. - In response to privacy concerns, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw stated that Florida law prohibits the sharing of RedSpeed camera data with Flock or any other vendor for remote surveillance purposes. - A representative for RedSpeed noted the company works with about 50 other Florida communities and that in those areas, speeding has been reduced by 90%, with less than 10% of drivers receiving a second ticket.