FAQs category 3

Isn't it against the law for the police to park their enforcement vans on the pavement?

All Parking Regulation orders in force throughout the county contain an exemption applicable to any Police vehicle which is being used for a police purpose where the restriction would be likely to hinder the use of that vehicle in fulfilling that purpose, and which is taking all reasonable precautions.

The parking of our Traffic Safety Camera vehicles whilst using the camera equipment to influence driver behaviour is carefully controlled. The activity has been risk assessed not only with the safety of our staff in mind but also the motoring and other users of the highway, including pedestrians. We always allow at least room for a person with a pushchair or disabled person in a wheelchair to pass the van with ease. Enforcement operations are carried out by two Traffic Support Officers, one of whom is responsible for ensuring free passage along the pavement by pedestrians. If it is apparent that someone is having difficulty in passing the van then they are instructed to move the vehicle to alleviate the problem. There is stated case law on this issue and there is no such thing as a partial/potential obstruction. An obstruction only exists if someone is actually obstructed. In consideration of this, staff do monitor this situation constantly with a view to moving the vehicle without delay if a problem arises. What amounts to an obstruction is a question of fact for the magistrates to decide in each case (Wade v Grange [1977], see also DPP v Jones (Margaret) [1999]. In arriving at that decision they will have regard to, amongst other things: ‘the length of time the obstruction continued, the place where it occurred, the purpose for which it was done and whether it caused an actual as opposed to a potential obstruction’ (Lord Parker CJ in Nagy v Weston [1965].

What is the Nottinghamshire Safety Camera Partnership?

The Nottinghamshire Safety Camera Partnership, that began operating in April 2000, was one of the eight original pilot areas which initially operated solely within the city of Nottingham. The aim of the programme project was casualty reduction and was a key driver to meeting the Government's 2010 casualty reduction targets, based on the 1994-1998 average, which were:
* A 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured.
* A 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured.
* A 10% reduction in the rate of slight casualties.

The programme also aimed to educate drivers about the consequences of speeding and to improve compliance with speed limits and traffic signals. The pilot projects were considered a success and April 2002 saw the national roll-out. Since then, the partnership has been operating in the whole of Nottinghamshire. Members now include: Nottinghamshire Police, Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, The Highways Agency and Her Majesty's Court Services. In April 2007 the means of funding the Nottinghamshire Safety Camera Partnership changed. Up to that time all camera partnerships in the country could claim their operating costs back from the Treasury based on fixed penalties paid on speeding and red traffic light camera offences. The Treasury retained any excess revenue, over the cost of running the Partnerships. Since April, all funding for safety camera operations has been derived from an annual Government grant paid to finance local authority Local Transport Plans to finance road safety projects, a proportion of which goes to run the camera partnerships. All payments from safety camera enforcement go directly to the Treasury as in the case of every other fine..
 

How much money is the police making out of speed and red-light cameras?

Nothing - not one penny.

Nottinghamshire Police, as partners in the Nottinghamshire Safety Camera Partnership, receive a fixed budget each year through the Local Transport Plan Grant to spend solely on safety camera operations. It makes no difference whatsoever how many camera enforcements take place.
Ideally, we'd like there to be as few enforcements as possible - that way, we'd know people are taking our advice and slowing down!
 

The correct positioning of cameras, speed camera signs and reasons for enforcement are legal requirements for a prosecution to be successful.

No, this is not true.

Up to March 31st 2007 the Government's Department for Transport published Rules and Guidance to camera partnerships about where, why and how safety cameras should be used. Up to that time camera partnerships could only claim their operating costs from safety camera fixed penalty fines if they rigidly complied with those rules. The number of warning signs, the colour of the cameras, only deploying cameras where there had been a set minimum of injury collisions, were all conditions that had to be conformed to in order for camera parterships to operate within the "netting off" scheme.

Since April 2007 this has all changed. The Department for Transport's Programme for Safety Cameras ceased to exist together with their restrictions on how safety cameras should be operated. Camera partnerships receive funding through a fixed grant irrespective of the number of enforcements carried out.
Although, in theory, safety cameras could be operated in a completely ad hoc manner, Nottinghamshire Safety Camera Partnership continues to operate within those now defunct rules and guidelines. We consider those rules as "best practice" and undertake to abide by them wherever possible in the best interests of fairness to motorists and to further our efforts to reduce casualties arising from excess speeding.
 

What is a Speed Awareness course and why are they not available in Nottinghamshire?

Speed awareness courses are initiatives used by some Camera Partnerships whereby speeding offenders pay a fixed fee to attend a course on driver behaviour, as an alternative to paying a £60 fine and having penalty points put on their driving licence. The format of these courses varies from one county to another as there is no centrally designed course being used on a national basis. The criterian to determine which candidates attends the course also varies throughout the country. The Department for Transport are in the process of designing a national speed awareness course which will no doubt be taken up by all police areas in the country, including Nottinghamshire. Until then, probably late 2008, Nottinghamshire Safety Camera Partnership will not be offering such courses.
 

Aren't valuable police resources being wasted by concentrating on speeding motorists rather than real criminals?

Not at all. The safety cameras are operated by additional dedicated Traffic Support Officers, thereby not abstracting police officers from other duties such as dealing with crime and core policing activities. Speeding and running red traffic lights is against the law. Many more people are killed and seriously injured as a result of drivers breaking such laws than by criminal assaults.