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Back in February, Southampton County Sheriff Josh A. Wyche announced the installation of school zone traffic enforcement camera systems were to be installed at Southampton High School and Capron Elementary Schools. 

Some may view this move as the opening for more cameras, similar to the systems currently in-use in Suffolk and surrounding Hampton Roads cities, and it very well could be. We can all tackle that when the time comes.

The reality, however, is these systems have proven to be effective in improving safety nationwide. The safety school zones are one of the most critical areas that should require monitoring and we applaud Sheriff Wyche for his willingness to put these into effect — to protect the safety of our children.

As noted in February, a Blue Line Solutions study showed nearly 3,000 violations at Capron Elementary period in a 5-day period. Not to bore you with math, but that is 600 violations per school day — nearly triple to schools population.

Now for the elephant in the room, where does the money go? For every $100 fine, $75 goes back to Southampton County to be used for infrastructure projects. The other $25 goes to Blue Line Solutions to cover the cost of camera operation and processing.

We hope these new cameras will do in Southampton County what they have been proven to do across the country — save lives.