Tickets from cameras will be added to a special list. Drivers will be checked at crossings.

The Photo Radar List in Cyprus is intended to make it easier for police to track down drivers who have failed to serve speed camera tickets. Checks will be conducted at buffer zone crossings, police stations, and when applying for a certificate of good conduct.

The list will include, among other things, nearly 12,000 fines issued to Turkish Cypriot vehicles. The driver who is found will not be required to pay the fine immediately, nor will he be automatically detained. The police will serve them with a notice, and from that point on, the deadline for payment will begin.

Photo Radar List in Cyprus awaits funding

The Cypriot Ministry of Finance has asked Parliament to release €146,640 plus VAT for the technical preparation of the system.

The application is scheduled to be considered by the Parliamentary Finance Committee on Monday. Only after funding is allocated will the application's implementation begin.

The Photo Radar List will be linked to existing police IT systems. It will contain data from vehicle owners and drivers who have previously failed to successfully submit documents regarding an offense recorded by a camera.

This doesn't mean the system is already operational. At this stage, the police are awaiting parliamentary approval for the project's funding.

Nearly 12,000 fines issued to vehicles from the north

One of the most important tasks of the new system will be to process almost 12,000 tickets related to Turkish Cypriot vehicles.

These cars were caught on camera violating traffic regulations in areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. The problem was that notices could not be delivered to their owners through standard postal procedures.

The license plates of such vehicles will be placed on the Photo Radar List. Police will be able to check them as they pass through the crossings connecting the two parts of the island.

This is currently one of the few places where it is possible to identify a person using a vehicle registered in the northern part of Cyprus and formally hand over their documents.

The list will not include only Turkish Cypriots

While the largest single cluster is almost 12,000 cases involving vehicles from the north, the system is intended to have broader application.

The list will include the details of people who failed to deliver:

• a mandate sent by registered mail,
• notification of an offense recorded by a camera,
• letter regarding the initiation of criminal proceedings,
• documents provided by employees of the company operating the camera system.

This means that the Photo Radar List may also apply to Cypriot citizens, foreigners and other residents of the Republic of Cyprus if previous attempts to deliver the notification have been unsuccessful.

What happens once the driver is found?

If, while checking the data, a police officer sees information about an undelivered ticket, the document will be handed over to the driver on the spot.

Mere delivery does not imply an obligation to pay immediately. From that moment on, the statutory deadline for payment begins to run. After receiving the document, the driver may continue their journey or leave the police station.

If the fine is not paid within the specified time, the case may be taken to court in accordance with the standard procedure.

The new app is not intended to be a system for automatically collecting money at crossings. Its primary purpose will be to effectively deliver a document to a person who has previously been unable to be contacted.

They will also check the certificate of no criminal record

The police also intend to use the list in police stations and offices serving people applying for certificates of no criminal record.

If an undelivered fine is found in the system, the officer will be able to provide a notification during the visit of the interested party.

However, an undelivered ticket should not be confused with a criminal conviction. Simply being on the Photo Radar List doesn't automatically mean a person has a criminal record. The system is simply intended to leverage a police visit to effectively serve documents.

In the future, also during road checks

In the next stage, traffic officers will be able to check the list during regular checks.

Officers will use tablets connected to the system. If it turns out that a driver being checked has an undelivered ticket from the camera, the document can be handed to them directly on the road.

The solution could significantly increase the efficiency of delivering fines, as the police will not have to wait for a person to appear at a police station or at a crossing.

Airports and ports have been removed from the system

Initially, the plan called for checks to be conducted at airports and ports as well. This solution was ultimately abandoned.

The reason is said to be the Republic of Cyprus's planned accession to the Schengen Information System. Therefore, airports and ports have been removed from the current version of the project.

A driver with an undelivered ticket should not therefore be found via Photo Radar List solely because they are departing from the island or arriving at a port.

Less searching and paperwork

The police argue that the new app will reduce bureaucracy and the number of hours officers spend searching for people and manually submitting documents.

Information about undelivered tickets will be visible directly in the police system. An officer checking the driver will immediately see whether a notice should be issued.

According to information sent to parliamentarians, procedures regarding personal data protection were also carried out during the preparation of the Photo Radar List.

The project may address some of the camera system's issues, but it doesn't change the rules governing the offenses themselves or the penalties. Its primary goal is to ensure that avoiding mail collection or failing to locate an address won't be sufficient to prevent a ticket from going undelivered for years.

Sources: Politis, Cypriot Ministry of Finance, Cyprus Police.