SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::
The Griffin Police Department (GPD) is temporarily unable to use speed detection devices due to the expiration of its Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license.
GPD Chief Mike Yates said the license expired at midnight March 26, 2022. He learned of the license expiration March 28, and all officers were then notified to stop using the devices until the matter was resolved.
“The license expires every 10 years so it is a pretty rare event. Generally, a renewal notice is sent 90 days or so before the expiration and the renewal request is submitted to the FCC. In this case no person at the police department knowingly received the notice,” Yates said. “I checked the FCC website and found that they advised they sent a letter on January 3, 2022 that was addressed to ATTN: Police Dept Griffin, City of Box T Griffin, Ga 30224 with no individual specified as the person to receive the correspondence.”
The GPD has since completed the FCC’s “fairly complex” online renewal submission process and is awaiting a response, he said.
“We were hopeful that our request would have been completed and approved as of today but it is still in progress,” Yates said. “How long the process will take is up to the FCC.”
Until the FCC license is renewed, GPD officers will not be utilizing speed detection devices, but Yates said he does not believe it will have a major impact on operations.
“It will prevent our officers from using the detection devices during this period but should only have a minor effect as there are numerous other violations to address, especially distracted driving which seems to be the most frequent contributor to our accidents,” he said while also explaining the licensing requirements. “While the city does have an active radar permit from the State which expires in 2024 no detection devices may be used until the FCC rules are in compliance per 40-14-4 of the State Traffic Code.”
The moratorium on the use of speed detection devices also applies to the city’s school zone cameras, but Yates said they are not now in use for speed limit enforcement.
“It does but has no impact at this time as they are not being used for enforcement and no citations have been or are being issued,” he said.
Yates said that prior to discovering the FCC license had expired, ten speeding citations had been issued.
“Each of those citations will be ‘Nolle Prossed’ or dismissed and the municipal court has been notified of this,” he said. “To our knowledge none of these citations have been paid and should they attempt to pay, payment will be refused. We are in the process of sending each of these individuals a notice that their charge has been dismissed. Should a person slip through the process and pay we will return their payment to them.”
Publisher’s note: This article has been updated to include information related to school zone cameras.
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