Cyprus police to get app for serving 12,000 camera fines at checkpoints

Cyprus’s Ministry of Finance is asking Parliament for the third time to allocate €146,640 excluding VAT for the implementation of the Photo Radar List app — a database of drivers with unpaid fines issued by traffic cameras. It will enable police to serve the fines directly at checkpoints.

Approximately 12,000 out-of-court fines issued by cameras concern Turkish Cypriot vehicles. It has not been possible to locate their owners and serve them with the fines until now, which is why checkpoints have been designated as the main place where the system will operate.

In addition to checkpoints, the database will be available to police officers at stations and at offices that issue certificates of no criminal record. At the next stage, the app is planned to be linked to the tablets used by patrol crews when stopping vehicles on the road, so that unpaid fines can be served on the spot.

Airports and ports were not included in the scheme: Cyprus is preparing to connect to the Schengen Information System, and checks there will be organised differently. The app will be integrated with the police’s existing information systems, and according to the ministry, the personal data protection protocols have been complied with.

Earlier, Parliament cited a figure of 190,000 cases involving camera fines, of which only one in five reached the intended recipient. The Traffic Department expects the Finance Committee to approve the allocation of funds on Monday.