Traffic officer cuts linked to failure to reduce road deaths over past decade

17 January 2022

Humberside Police Federation: “It is vital to recognise that roads policing is a specialist skilled area… numbers and experience matters”

Rob Grunner, Federation Secretary, was speaking as it emerged that cuts to the number of dedicated traffic officers has been linked to a failure to reduce road deaths in the past decade.

According to figures from BBC Panorama, the number of police officers tasked with enforcing road laws has dropped by 15% since 2016.

Figures from 34 forces who responded to a Freedom of Information request showed the total number of dedicated traffic officers fell from 5,014 in 2016 to 4,257 currently.

Meanwhile, the number of people killed on the roads each year remained stable between 2010 and 2019, after going down for three decades.

Rob said: “Roads policing plays a vital part in the overall policing response in Humberside. The staff are dedicated and highly skilled to keep members of the public safe when using the road network but also to work closely with colleagues in various departments in not allowing the criminal element the use of the roads.

“They work to ensure vehicles using the roads are in safe condition and are being driven correctly to try to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads.

“Roads policing as with all areas of policing has suffered through the cuts that were made and numbers reduced as forces had to make really tough decisions around where to place their resources. When we think back only 10 years to how many roads policing staff we had to the current picture they are a considerable distance apart. The picture is changing though within our force and we are seeing numbers starting to go back up.”

Rob, an experienced roads policing officer, added: “It is vital to recognise that this is a specialist skilled area and takes time for an officer to develop into a true ‘traffic cop’. Simply putting staff in place does not mean that they are ready to go, only time and experience will develop them into the specialist that they will become. 

“I would always make the case for a properly staffed and equipped roads policing unit and we are fortunate that In Humberside our Chief Constable does recognise the value and expertise that they bring. We will always make the case for this to continue and continue to showcase the amazing work that they do.“

The Panorama investigation also found that nearly 50% of fixed speed cameras do not work.

In response to a separate FoI request, 26 forces said that 523 of a total of 1,110 fixed speed cameras were inactive.

In some areas, including North Yorkshire, Durham and Northamptonshire, no cameras were active.

See more here: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/king-bbc-northamptonshire-panorama-durham-b977026.html