Alexandria, Virginia, is dismissing thousands of red-light camera tickets and issuing refunds after the discovery of a programming glitch over a nearly four-year period, the city announced in a news release Thursday.

The city said a comprehensive review turned up a programming error in the automated red-light camera program that led to 4,709 citations being erroneously issued between Jan. 26, 2016, and Oct. 4, 2019.

In all, $187,673 in fines was collected.

The city said the total number of erroneous citations accounted for less than half a percent of all citations issued during the same period.

The review related specifically to the red-light camera at Duke and South Walker Streets near Landmark Mall, which was erroneously issuing tickets to drivers within the half-second amnesty period, according to the review.

The amnesty period is required by Virginia law and means citations can’t be issued until a light turns red and a half-second has passed.

The city said the error was discovered by Redflex, the private company that operated the city’s automated red-light cameras.

Going forward, the city said it would conduct monthly and quarterly operational audits to make sure there are no programming errors in the future.

There are a total of six red-light cameras at four intersections in Alexandria.

The city said customers who were affected by the error and paid their fine will be mailed a letter with information on how to process their refund.

For more information, drivers should contact the photo enforcement customer service call center at 877-847-2338, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and follow the prompts. Before calling, drivers should have their citation number or the vehicle’s license plate information at the time of the citation.