Surrey launch Speedwatch

Surrey Police have become the latest force to launch the Community Speedwatch initiative which sees volunteers using hand-held speed cameras to make drivers think twice about their driving habits and slow down.

Under the initiative, volunteers trained in the use of speed detecting equipment work in pairs at locations selected by local communities in consultation with the force to record speeds of motorists in a log.

Offenders travelling at excess speeds will be identified from the data and sent a ‘yellow’ letter of advice which will also ask for their co-operation in the future.

A maximum of two warning letters, along with safety information, will be sent to offenders and if they are caught speeding again, they will be targeted for enforcement by police.

However, while the aim of the initiative is for the presence of the Speedwatch volunteers to make drivers slow down, a local councillor in Cambridgeshire where the scheme has already been trialled has raised concerns over Speedwatch and the role of volunteers.

South Cambridge Councillor Deborah Roberts said the initiative caused divisions within local communities, and said the work was better suited to the police.

She told BBC News 24: “It was inappropriate to get residents to actually be using these guns in their own villages against fellow residents. That is bound to cause upset.

“It is open to abuse as well. You could have people who are looking at it as a way of actually getting back at people who have upset them in the village, or what happens if it’s a friend of yours who goes by?

“It’s quite inappropriate and my own feelings were if the police believe that there is a traffic problem in villages or towns, or wherever it is, for the police to do these jobs.”

East Surrey Neighbourhood Superintendent Jerry Westerman said: “Surrey Police spend a great deal of time listening to local communities and one concern that they frequently raise is about vehicles travelling at excessive speeds through their neighbourhoods.

Community Speedwatch is a great way for Surrey Police to work together with communities to target these concerns and it gives residents the opportunity to get actively involved in helping to make Surrey’s roads safer.

“The role of enforcement is of course still one for Surrey Police and we will continue to take action against speeding drivers on our roads. What the Speedwatch initiative is primarily about is re-educating drivers and giving them a chance to think about and change their driving behaviour.”