North Hempstead board approves Jericho school-bus camera agreement after legal and operational questions

The Town of North Hempstead on Feb. 4 approved an agreement with the Jericho Union Free School District to participate in a school-bus stop-arm camera program run by a private vendor known as Bus Patrol. Council members and members of the public spent more than an hour probing legal and operational safeguards after recent Newsday reporting raised concerns about ticketing in other towns.

Council members pressed staff and Robert Bogle, the town’s chief deputy attorney, about how the town would prevent tickets issued outside participating school districts from proceeding to adjudication. Bogle said the town’s public safety office reviews the evidence packets Bus Patrol provides and that the town exercises prosecutorial discretion; public safety will decline to pursue citations that appear to have been generated in nonparticipating districts or in circumstances where a median or multi-lane roadway makes stopping unnecessary. He also said the town had asked Bus Patrol to provide ‘‘specific carve outs’’ tied to school-district boundaries to avoid wrongful prosecutions.

Several residents and board members asked about the 30-day ‘‘warning’’ implementation period that state law contemplates when a district joins the program. Bogle acknowledged the statutory warning period and said the town implemented a warning window in earlier rollouts but that later entrants do not always receive the same grace period; he said he would check the rollout timing and work with Bus Patrol and the school district on clear public notices and signage.

Council members also raised questions about educational outreach to drivers and students, the placement and wording of signage, and pending litigation against Bus Patrol in other jurisdictions. Bogle said he had reviewed litigation filings and that some issues — including alleged defects in accusatory instruments and hearing procedures in other municipalities — remain in court; he said the town has taken steps to avoid similar risks, including limiting prosecutions in borderline scenarios.

After the back-and-forth, council members who had supported pausing the item said the town’s internal safeguards addressed many concerns; the board voted to approve the agreement. Council members and staff said they will continue to monitor implementation, seek assurances about signage and public education, and instruct public safety to be conservative when the recorded facts suggest a violation occurred outside a participating district.

The agreement requires the town to enter a contract with the school district in order for Bus Patrol camera evidence to be reviewed and processed. The town attorney and public safety will continue communications with the vendor to address outstanding operational and due-process questions.

What happens next: Staff said they will follow up on signage, public education efforts for school districts and drivers, and internal review procedures to limit wrongful citations. The town will monitor litigation developments involving the vendor.

Quotes (representative): "We want specific carve outs for the school districts in which those tickets are issued to make sure that the tickets being issued are in school districts that actually do participate in the program with the town," Robert Bogle, chief deputy town attorney, said.

"What stops someone from getting run over is the educational program that's supposed to come along with the implementation of this program by Bus," Councilman (name provided in transcript) said.

Ending: The resolution approving the town’s agreement with the Jericho School District passed after discussion; staff said they would return with implementation details and monitor vendor performance.