CAMDEN — The Camden Police Department is getting tough with speeders, but it will cost you the price of a ticket to find out how tough.

Police Chief Terry Burgess told the selectmen Monday the seasonal cycle of heavy tourist traffic on Route 1 pushing more and more local drivers onto side streets is in full swing and is producing an unusually high number of complaints by residents of those streets.

In response, the department has reviewed its tolerance policy on how much speeding a driver can get away with before a pinch takes place. “In fairness to the local driving public, I will say the tolerance is lower, but I won’t say what it is,” Burgess said.

Speeders who clock in above the posted limit, but below the new tolerance level, and who have fairly clean driving records, will get off with a warning the first time.

Burgess said his department also is buying a new radar display box, a device that is placed on the front of a cruiser and allows the approaching miscreant to see exactly how fast he or she is going.

“We’re sending a message to warn the public that we are responding to the considerable number of complaints about speeding on the side streets,” Burgess said. “We’re being considerably more strict. In fact, some of the drivers we’ve busted have been some of the complainers.”