Concerned about vehicles racing through town streets, especially now that school is in session, Scarborough police launched “Operation Get the Message” on Thursday to catch speeders.

The operation was a success, according to police Sgt. John O’Malley. He said police stopped 96 drivers in a seven-hour period for speeding. Some were going more than 20 mph over the speed limit of 35 mph, he said.

The operation was the idea of Police Chief Robert Moulton, O’Malley said. Police receive a lot of complaints from residents about speeding vehicles and he wanted to send the message that speeding is against the law, O’Malley said. The chief is particularly concerned now that schoolchildren are crossing streets daily, he said.

On Thursday, uniformed officers with radar guns were stationed in a green pickup truck owned by the Public Works Department. The innocuous-looking truck was parked in a variety of sites around town where residents have complained about speeding vehicles, according to Sgt. John O’Malley.

Unsuspecting drivers had their speeds clocked and if they were exceeding the speed limit, the officers radioed information about the speeders to officers in patrol cars farther down the road, who stopped those violating the law.

O’Malley said the operation took place in residential areas on three roads: Holmes Road, Payne Road and Running Hill Road.

And Operation Get the Message was not a one-day occurrence, O’Malley warned. “This is going to become commonplace,” he said. “It’s very productive.”

Police will use different cover vehicles each time so drivers won’t know what to expect. “It could be a school bus or a blue minivan,” O’Malley said. “There’s no guarantee.”

He said police hope the public will learn from the operation not to speed. Voluntary compliance with the law is always best, he said.

And for those who speed, O’Malley said, “we want the general public to know we’re out there enforcing traffic law.”