Blessed are the Tax Gatherers .......
Discussion
Below these two paragraphs you will find a copy of an e-mail I sent tonight to the "Wiltshire Safety Camera" tax gatherers. As an aside (just in case anybody is interested) on their website they appear to be totally misquoting and misinterpeting DPP v Broomfield. Have a look for yourself: www.safetycameras-wiltshire-swindon.co.uk/
Do any of the serving police officers out there have a view on this? - if a local police authority deliberately and knowingly makes a false declaration to the public, should tney not be prosecuted, and if so under which law or statute? (I would be very, very interested in the answer - I feel a potential private prosecution coming on .....!!!!)
Here goes:-
I wish to express my concerns about an incident I witnessed on Saturday last, 6th September, when I noted a police officer with a speed camera on the A4 between Yatesbury and Beckhampton.
I must hasten to point out that I was not speeding at the time and so "have no axe" to grind regarding receiving a notice of intended prosecution! My concern, as a motorist of 30 years standing (and a reasonably well-behaved one, at that !!) is that this officer was operating a speed camera on a Saturday afternoon, at the end of a long straight section of road that was once a three-lane carriageway (prior to the M4 being built) in light traffic and in perfect visibility. I am not aware that this road, at this location, has any accident record at all, let alone a bad one.
This scenario struck me, as a reasonably responsible middle-aged citizen with 33 years of driving experience, as having nothing whatsoever to do with "safety," as your website so proudly proclaims, but simply an opportunity for Wiltshire Constabulary to indulge themselves in revenue generation.
Personally, I find this sort of behaviour particularly galling because in the year 2000 I had occasion to report an assault on my person to the police, another case of burglary at my house, and a further case of harassment from a number of local youths. In the first two instances, I was advised by your force that they could take no further action through lack of evidence and, in the third, I was tersely told by the person answering the telephone that you were not prepared to do anything about it. Yet, however, should I have been caught doing 65mph last Saturday afternoon on a perfectly straight road, in light traffic, and in perfect visibility, then no doubt the full might of the law would be pressed into action against me??!!
I would urge you, if you do not wish your "speed safety" campaign to become completely tarnished, or you would prefer that you did not lose the support of "middle England" in that campaign, to take a very much more sensible and realistic approach to road safety than was apparently the case on Saturday afternoon.
Yours faithfully
Do any of the serving police officers out there have a view on this? - if a local police authority deliberately and knowingly makes a false declaration to the public, should tney not be prosecuted, and if so under which law or statute? (I would be very, very interested in the answer - I feel a potential private prosecution coming on .....!!!!)
Here goes:-
I wish to express my concerns about an incident I witnessed on Saturday last, 6th September, when I noted a police officer with a speed camera on the A4 between Yatesbury and Beckhampton.
I must hasten to point out that I was not speeding at the time and so "have no axe" to grind regarding receiving a notice of intended prosecution! My concern, as a motorist of 30 years standing (and a reasonably well-behaved one, at that !!) is that this officer was operating a speed camera on a Saturday afternoon, at the end of a long straight section of road that was once a three-lane carriageway (prior to the M4 being built) in light traffic and in perfect visibility. I am not aware that this road, at this location, has any accident record at all, let alone a bad one.
This scenario struck me, as a reasonably responsible middle-aged citizen with 33 years of driving experience, as having nothing whatsoever to do with "safety," as your website so proudly proclaims, but simply an opportunity for Wiltshire Constabulary to indulge themselves in revenue generation.
Personally, I find this sort of behaviour particularly galling because in the year 2000 I had occasion to report an assault on my person to the police, another case of burglary at my house, and a further case of harassment from a number of local youths. In the first two instances, I was advised by your force that they could take no further action through lack of evidence and, in the third, I was tersely told by the person answering the telephone that you were not prepared to do anything about it. Yet, however, should I have been caught doing 65mph last Saturday afternoon on a perfectly straight road, in light traffic, and in perfect visibility, then no doubt the full might of the law would be pressed into action against me??!!
I would urge you, if you do not wish your "speed safety" campaign to become completely tarnished, or you would prefer that you did not lose the support of "middle England" in that campaign, to take a very much more sensible and realistic approach to road safety than was apparently the case on Saturday afternoon.
Yours faithfully
Just copied this from the site above :
Through a combination of education and increased safety camera activity we can aspire to:
*Bring about a change in driver attitude towards excess speed and thus improve driver behaviour.
*Influence public opinion against drivers who exceed speed limits and make speeding socially unacceptable.
*Demonstrate that the use of safety cameras is an effective use of police resources.
Well......it seems to say it all really....."education through a change in attitude", hmmmmmm.......in the great speed camera issue (as I understand it) there is no intention to literally re-educate drivers thereby changing their 'behaviour'. Nor is there an increasing traffic police presence nowadays (IIRC) to assist with this particular area of enlightenment. How can our 'attitude' be changed.....advertising ?
"Influence public opinion........" I recall a thread here on drink-driving & how that has become less 'socially acceptable' broadly speaking. I don't think DD penalties are a great deal more punative than that of 10-15 years ago. By steady advertising we have been (rightly) led to see DD as a 'socially unacceptable' pastime now. Errr......more advertising ?
"Demonstrate that speed....err....sorry, safety cameras are an effective use of police resources". Hmmmm......I think they'll need Alastair Campbell for this one
>> Edited by Yoda954 on Tuesday 9th September 00:42
Through a combination of education and increased safety camera activity we can aspire to:
*Bring about a change in driver attitude towards excess speed and thus improve driver behaviour.
*Influence public opinion against drivers who exceed speed limits and make speeding socially unacceptable.
*Demonstrate that the use of safety cameras is an effective use of police resources.
Well......it seems to say it all really....."education through a change in attitude", hmmmmmm.......in the great speed camera issue (as I understand it) there is no intention to literally re-educate drivers thereby changing their 'behaviour'. Nor is there an increasing traffic police presence nowadays (IIRC) to assist with this particular area of enlightenment. How can our 'attitude' be changed.....advertising ?
"Influence public opinion........" I recall a thread here on drink-driving & how that has become less 'socially acceptable' broadly speaking. I don't think DD penalties are a great deal more punative than that of 10-15 years ago. By steady advertising we have been (rightly) led to see DD as a 'socially unacceptable' pastime now. Errr......more advertising ?
"Demonstrate that speed....err....sorry, safety cameras are an effective use of police resources". Hmmmm......I think they'll need Alastair Campbell for this one
>> Edited by Yoda954 on Tuesday 9th September 00:42
rs1952 said:
Do any of the serving police officers out there have a view on this? - if a local police authority deliberately and knowingly makes a false declaration to the public, should tney not be prosecuted, and if so under which law or statute? (I would be very, very interested in the answer -
Not a BiB, and I don't know if there's a law, but you may wish to make a complaint to the Police Complaints Authority along the lines of this one: www.safespeed.org.uk/bbcomplaint.html . As you have not personally received one, you're not eligible for the Safespeed one, but there's nothing to stop you making your own: www.pca.gov.uk .
rs1952 said:
I feel a potential private prosecution coming on .....!!!!)
I doubt that you've got the money; even if it is possible.
ts? Yoda954 said:
Just copied this from the site above :
Through a combination of education and increased safety camera activity we can aspire to:
*Bring about a change in driver attitude towards excess speed and thus improve driver behaviour.
*Influence public opinion against drivers who exceed speed limits and make speeding socially unacceptable.
*Demonstrate that the use of safety cameras is an effective use of police resources.
Well......it seems to say it all really....."education through a change in attitude",
What it actually says, in common with other such wesbites is, 'a change in attitude through education'. More worryingly it also says, 'a change in attitude through increased camera activity' (my emphasis, reference to 'safety' deleted).
However, what they patently and blithely fail to realise is that the 'influence on public opinion' that they are having is very largely negative - alienating large swathes of the motoring public and satisfying only an extremely tiny minority.
The 'effective use of police resources' is seen as a joke. It serves the 'hit your target, get your budget' approach beloved of this government and is an additional source of revenue to the Exchequer paid by an increasing number of people, but does nothing to improve the rate of crime detection or prevention, or successful prosecution and appropriate punishment in many areas that affect both the motoring and non-motoring public alike.
Collectively it demonstrates an attitude that brings to mind the chilling words of Tacitus (79BC-14AD), "Corruptissima re republica plurimae leges".
Streaky
>> Edited by streaky on Tuesday 9th September 07:45
rs1952 said:
Do any of the serving police officers out there have a view on this? - if a local police authority deliberately and knowingly makes a false declaration to the public, should tney not be prosecuted, and if so under which law or statute? (I would be very, very interested in the answer - I feel a potential private prosecution coming on .....!!!!)
I don't understand what you mean about knowingly make a false statement and in what context you have taken the statement which you believe to be false.
Unless you are very wealthy and have unlimited funds to throw away, I would not contemplate any kind of pivate prosecution against a corporate or establishment body (use legal aid if you can
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