Tucked back in the parking lot of Walton Road Baptist Church, five police officers cracked down on students and other motorists speeding along the 30-mph street between Lennard Road and Rushing Lane.

Officers also were looking for students who were listening to loud music or who were not wearing their seat belts.

"The idea is to focus on student commuters leaving school," Officer James Billig said, holding one of four laser speed measuring devices used to calculate the students' speed.

"If students are caught speeding coming from or leaving school, they may lose their privileges to park there," he added.

Billig said police have received "ongoing complaints" about motorists speeding along the residential road.

"We've had a lot of trouble on Walton Road," Billig said. "It's a 30 mph road, but cars are going between 45 and 50 miles per hour."

Operation "after school detention" was the first phase of a community action plan designed to slow down students driving to and from school.

Beginning next month, officers will speak to students at Port St. Lucie High and St. Lucie West Centennial High schools about safe driving and the importance of wearing a seat belt.

"We could sit out here all day and give them tickets, but giving them a $150 ticket is not going to get them to wear their seat belt," Billig said. "We don't want to sit out here and hammer people all day. We are trying to get the students to slow down."

Sara Walker, a junior at Port St. Lucie High School, was on her way home from school when officers gave her a citation.

"I didn't realize how fast I was going," Walker said. "I was just going with the flow of traffic. I think the speed limit should be faster."

Billig said officers issued about 120 tickets during the speed initiative from 9 a.m. and to 3 p.m. About 22 tickets were issued to high school students.

A new computer program helped increase the number of citations officers could issue during the detail, Billig said.

The department is testing the program, which allows officers to submit the driver's license information electronically from a laptop computer in their patrol car.

The software, called Virtual Partner, also enables officers to print citations from a small portable printer in patrol units.

"With all the technology we have there is so much we can do to make our jobs safer and more effective," said Jeffrey Rubenstein, a Delray Beach police officer who designed the software.

Rubenstein was at Tuesday's traffic initiative, demonstrating the program to Port St. Lucie police.

Without the program, officers have to hand-write tickets and wait for dispatch operators to verify the driver's information, a process Rubenstein said could take up to 15 minutes.

In less than a minute, the computer program can confirm license and tag numbers and print the citation, Rubenstein said.

"This is very quick," Billig said. "It is good for officer safety as far as being able to keep a visual on the vehicle."

About 25 other police agencies in the state use the system to issue traffic citations, Rubenstein said.

The City Council must ultimately approve buying the software, which is estimated to cost about $2,500.