Could all of Prince George鈥檚 County鈥檚 speed cameras be going dark next week?

Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland, has dozens of school zones and residential areas that are authorized for speed cameras, and even if cameras aren鈥檛 always active in those corridors, you never know when they could be, which is why it鈥檚 always a risk to speed through them. Starting next week, that could change.

During a briefing before the Prince George鈥檚 County Council, the head of the county鈥檚 automated enforcement division said a changing of vendors that operate the program means there could be a gap that stretches for weeks or months.

For years, the county鈥檚 speed cameras have been run by a company called Conduent, and by 2022, when cameras were authorized not just in school zones but also in residential areas, it was clear to the county that it wasn鈥檛 going well.

鈥淲e started to determine that they were not going to be able to handle residential speed enforcement, for a variety of factors,鈥� admitted Capt. Jason Smith, who oversees automated enforcement programs. The company also had problems operating cameras on Maryland Route 210.

By mid-2022, he said finding a new vendor became a priority. It just took those in charge of contract procurements a long time to do that.

In fact, it wasn鈥檛 until last month that the county was able to sign a deal with a new company called Jenoptik. And while Conduent鈥檚 contract expires this weekend, Jenoptik can鈥檛 just come in and flip on new cameras.

鈥淯nfortunately, we are anticipating there to be a gap,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to keep it within 90 days. We鈥檙e hoping within 90 days of January 18 we鈥檒l have new cameras out and we鈥檒l have coverage back.鈥�

But Smith also said a variety of factors could extend or reduce that looming gap.

鈥淲e have to put them in touch with our court representatives and with the [Motor Vehicle Administration] and et cetera,鈥� he added. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e professionals. They鈥檝e done this before. But that鈥檚 going to be the thing that holds us up. It鈥檚 not a matter of equipment.

“They鈥檝e assured us they can have 50 new cameras available for us to deploy within a few months. But what鈥檚 likely to happen is we鈥檒l have the cameras but not the support infrastructure in place.鈥�

Another pothole that鈥檚 also above the county police department鈥檚 purview is a challenge to the new contract happening right now.

Barry Stanton, who oversees public safety in the county tried not to get into too many details, but after getting asked about it by members of the council who were wondering why a local company was rejected, he admitted that a locally-based vendor that wasn鈥檛 awarded the contract is protesting the process. Jenoptik is not a local company.

鈥淯ntil the protest is resolved, we want to make sure that we鈥檙e careful,鈥� said Stanton. 鈥淚 feel very comfortable with where we are on the contract right now. I feel there was a clear process on how we got to that particular point.鈥�

Municipalities in the county have their own agreements, and their cameras will continue to operate even if there鈥檚 a gap in the county鈥檚 program. And county leaders are racing to figure out how to avoid a long gap without any speed camera enforcement.

There鈥檚 no finalized plan yet, but one idea being considered is paying Conduent to continue to operate speed cameras on a temporary basis. It鈥檚 also possible Jenoptik is cleared to start operating its cameras sooner than anticipated, though there鈥檚 less optimism that will happen.

In the meantime, don鈥檛 be surprised if patrol officers run radar in some areas too, and a ticket from them would come with not just a fine, but also points on your license. A lot of the camera infrastructure will remain up, which will make it hard for drivers to know if a camera is really operating or not unless they鈥檙e willing to find out the hard way.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.