http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 929284.ece
Stop relying on speed cameras and increase patrols, traffic police are told
Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
The Government has reprimanded chief constables for relying too heavily on speed cameras and failing to allocate enough traffic officers to keep roads safe.
The number of traffic police in England and Wales has fallen from 7,525 in 1999 to 6,511 last year, a reduction of 13 per cent, according to figures obtained by the Conservatives.
By contrast, the number of speed camera penalties quadrupled to 1.9 million between 1999 and 2004, the latest year for which figures are available.
Motoring groups argue that speed cameras are no substitute for a strong police presence because they cannot detect offences such as drink-driving, dangerous overtaking and driving while disqualified. The number of breath tests carried out fell from 765,000 in 1999 to 578,000 in 2004.
The reduction in the number of traffic police has been the subject of recent angry exchanges between ministers and chief constables, who make the final decision about how to deploy their resources.
Stephen Ladyman, the Road Safety Minister, has accused chief constables of ignoring a Home Office National Policing Plan, which makes roads policing a priority.
Speaking at a traffic policing conference last month, he said: “One set of chief constables have read the National Policing Plan and read the bit about priority for roads policing and others have read it and ignored that bit.”
Mr Ladyman and Vernon Coaker, the Home Office Minister, have written a joint letter to chief constables saying: “Whilst technology has enhanced capacity for the police to perform their role more efficiently and effectively, it cannot enforce all offences and cannot replace direct intervention by the police. There is a need for an active police presence on the roads.”
The Association of Chief Police Constables has responded by claiming that the Government is to blame for the decline in traffic officers because it has failed to include traffic offences in the targets by which forces are judged.
Med Hughes, head of roads policing at the ACPO and Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, said that the Government had failed to make a financial commitment to support its words on road safety.
“We have had additional money for robbery initiatives, burglary, antisocial behaviour, domestic violence, but never for road casualty reduction.”
Mr Hughes said that Home Office targets required police to devote resources to petty crime rather than catching dangerous drivers.
“We have been calling for over two years for drink-driving and driving while disqualified to be given the same status in our policing statistics as the theft of a Kit Kat from a corner shop.”
In their letter Mr Ladyman and Mr Coaker say: “We are considering how the importance [of these offences] can be adequately reflected in future performance frameworks.”
Mr Hughes said that a greater police presence would help to reduce road deaths, which had fallen only slightly since speed cameras began to appear in significant numbers in the mid1990s.
But he denied that cameras were to blame for the decline in traffic police numbers. “The fall is down to other pressures of policing, not cameras. Without those cameras we still wouldn’t have the traffic officers but we wouldn’t be enforcing the speed limit either.”
Owen Paterson, Shadow Roads Minister, said: “Speed cameras cannot detect inappropriate speed for the conditions. They can only enforce an arbitrary limit. We need human beings on the road to judge what’s dangerous and what’s not.”
***
The letter:
Quote:
Dear Chief Officer
Following a number of discussions between ourselves and with Med Hughes, we are writing to you all now to stress the Government’s continuing commitment to the Roads Policing Strategy issued in January 2005 and to encourage your implementation of the strategy locally. We look forward to seeing an effective local focus on the achievement of its five chief aims: denying criminals the use of the roads, reducing road casualties, tackling the threat of terrorism, reducing anti-social use of the roads and enhancing public confidence and reassurance by patrolling the roads.
We want also in this context to see effective enforcement of motoring law. We must leave the public in no doubt that criminal motoring offences are as serious as any other criminal offence and will be dealt with appropriately by firm police action. In that connection, the role of the trained and skilled officer is vitally important. Whilst technology has enhanced capacity for the police to perform their role more efficiently and effectively, it cannot enforce all offences and cannot replace direct intervention by the police. There is a need for an active police presence on the roads.
Offences where we see nationally a particular need for positive police activity are those related to drink and drug driving and disqualified driving. While these do not currently feature in the offences brought to justice target, we are considering how their importance can be adequately reflected in future performance frameworks.
The increase in the number of breath alcohol screening tests in the latest statistics, for 2004, was welcome. Drink and drug driving are serious offences, too often resulting in deaths and injuries. Disqualification is a serious penalty usually reflecting serious or repeated bad driving. It is not acceptable that some should feel they can continue to drive with impunity whilst disqualified. We look to the police to address this situation.
Roads policing activity, like other aspects of police operations, is open to public scrutiny. Currently it has two specific performance indicators within the Policing Performance Assessment Framework (numbers killed and seriously injured compared with vehicle kilometres travelled and satisfaction with the way incidents are dealt with, including for victims of road traffic collisions). It is also one of the 27 areas of policing specifically covered in HMIC’s published annual baseline assessments. We are delighted that no force has been graded poor in this area and that there are forces already achieving an Excellent grade. We look forward to further advances.
The Government has made its expectations clear. All the National Policing Plans issued have included a reference to roads policing, as did the National Community Safety Plan issued last year. The update to that Plan, issued on 30 November, set implementation of the Roads Policing Strategy as a key action for the police in 2007-08 and set support for the police in its implementation as a specific Government commitment. That commitment is reflected in this letter
VERNON COAKER
STEPHEN LADYMAN
So now DfT would rather save face than save lives AND would rather blame Police for their errors. I'm working on PR now...
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