Millions of dollars from payments on thousands of school-zone speeding tickets issued last year are flowing back to the Tallahassee Police Department and Leon County Schools for safety initiatives, officials say.
A little more than 50,000 notices of violation were issued to Tallahassee drivers since TPD launched the speeding cameras last March, according to data provided by TPD. At $100 a ticket, this means the cameras have the potential to bring in $5 million, with TPD’s share equating to nearly $2 million and LCS’s share equating to $600,000 if all the tickets get paid off.
Under state law, TPD has to use the money generated by school zone speeding violations on public safety initiatives, and LCS has to use it to support general safety and security within the school district.
This means if a school needed a metal detector, for example, money from speeding violations could be spent on this equipment, LCS spokesperson Chris Petley confirmed.
So far, out of violations that were issued between Sept. 11, 2025 and May, 21, 2026, TPD has seen $966,342 and LCS has seen $297,336 of that, as only 24,778 violations have been paid, according to data previously obtained from TPD in a records request.
Where does the rest of the $100 ticket go?
The ticket money is split among TPD, LCS, the vendor and the state. Once a violator pays the ticket, RedSpeed takes its fees of $21 and then deposits the rest to the city.
The remaining $79 is split with TPD receiving $39, the State of Florida general fund receiving $20, LCS receiving $12, the local crossing guard program receiving $5 and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Education Fund receiving $3, according to a PowerPoint breakdown previously provided by TPD.
The program could be lucrative for the city if speeding violations continue at this rate, which is fueling debate over whether the cameras are about public safety or just a “money grab.”
Others have privacy concerns: “When you create those kinds of infrastructures, they always and inevitably end up getting used for all kinds of new purposes that weren’t the (original) justification. They end up getting abused,” Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, previously said in an interview.
But TPD and other supporters of the camera technology say the goal is to change driving behaviors, which will ultimately reduce the money the cameras generate in years to come.
Are the cameras still active?
TPD previously told the Tallahassee Democrat the cameras will be off for students’ summer vacation, and will remain off until the first day of school, which is Aug. 12.
During the school year, the cameras are normally activated throughout the entire school day, not just when the school zone lights are flashing. This includes:
This article contains previously reported material. Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Who gets a cut of the $5 million in school zone speeding camera fines?
Reporting by Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
