Police patrol cars may make us wince with anxiety when we're out on an empty country road, but in other locations, they can be a reassuring sight.
In built up areas, patrol cars can make drivers think twice before having a drink, using mobile phones, driving the wrong way down a one way street or breaking traffic regulations in countless other ways with potentially lethal consequences for other road users. Sadly however, thanks to a huge reduction in the number of serving traffic officers, you're more likely to see a red squirrel in Britain than a traffic policeman.
In January 2001, a serving officer in the Metropolitan Police revealed that they had slashed the number of traffic cops from 1500 to 640. While speeding convictions have gone up, convictions for almost every other traffic offence have fallen as a result, and that means the high level of protection you could once expect from dangerous driving is no longer out there.
Flywheel can now reveal that many forces have actually scrapped their traffic divisions altogether, reducing the total number of dedicated traffic officers in their areas to zero.
The Essex police force is one of eight in the country which, since last year, has been allowed to plough revenue from speeding fines into buying more speed traps. In theory, that frees up more money for manual policing of the roads.
However, Essex Police spokesman Norman Hicks said the force now had no dedicated traffic officers on patrol at all.
He said: "The traffic division has been merged with what was the operation division and the two are now called the mobile support division."
Policing the roads is now only a small part of the new unit's responsibilities, which also include responding to firearms incidents, crimes in progress such as burglaries, marine crimes and a range of other emergencies.
Another force allowed to reinvest the revenue from fines is Cleveland. In 1997 it had 48 dedicated traffic officers, but now it has effectively disbanded its traffic division by giving every officer multiple roles, including responding to crimes in progress or firearms incidents. Force Spokesman Charlie Westberg said: "There's now no separate traffic division. This has been done to reduce supervisors and save money".
Lincolnshire has also been allowed to keep revenue from speeding fines and while it hasn’t quite sent its traffic division to the wall yet, spokesman Phil Denison said that of the remaining 67 officers, 65 had a "dual role".
He said: "We’re trying to move towards a situation where 100% of traffic officers will have a dual role. It will include firearms work and responding to other crimes in progress".
Denison failed to comment on the number of dedicated officers the force had in 1997, or when we can expect them all to have "dual roles". He claimed the change was a gradual one which started in 1987, when some officers were first given joint responsibility for traffic and firearms response, but also declined to give figures for that year.
However, he did say: "It’s to do with manpower and the ability to police the whole county. This arrangement was considered the most effective".
The other five forces, which are allowed to reinvest speeding fines, are South Wales, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Strathclyde, and Thames Valley.
Lucy Ferguson of Thames Valley refused to reveal the number of serving dedicated traffic officers on the grounds that is was "contentious".
A Strathclyde spokesperson found the matter so sensitive she refused to provide any figures or even a reason for refusing. "We're not telling you because we're not telling you, said "Christine", helpfully. "That's the only reason you're getting."
Nottinghamshire spokesman Andy Johnson claimed the force had only lost one full-time traffic officer since 1997, but refused to provide any figures for "operational and security reasons".
Only the Northamptonshire and South Wales forces said they still had dedicated traffic officers on patrol. South Wales claimed it currently had 146, but said it would take six days to obtain the same information for 1997, while Northamptonshire spokesperson Niki Hastings said the force currently had 70 compared to 80 in 1997.
That's comfort for residents in those two areas, but nation-wide the case is disheartening. The Staffordshire, West Midlands and North Yorkshire forces also admit they've done away with their traffic divisions.
A Staffordshire spokeswoman said: "We had a restructure at the beginning of January and the traffic division as it was doesn't exist any longer". The force's traffic officers are now also responsible for responding to other crimes. She continued: "All departments are constantly under review to find best use of resources. We decided the traffic division would be better organised in this way." She was also unable to provide figures.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire police, which has also taken similar steps, said: "The role of the traffic officer has diversified from just traffic to all-round crime prevention and enforcement".
West Midlands spokesperson Jo Hunt said the force had no dedicated traffic division "as such".
Although Sussex police still have a dedicated traffic force, a concerned serving officer said numbers were dwindling fast. He said, "I've seen numbers go from 360 to 160 in 20 years". He estimated that in 1997 there was somewhere around 200. He continued: "You'd be horrified if you knew exactly how few traffic officers there are out there. There are a number of forces which have no manpower at all for policing roads".
The officer blamed the problem on the Government. He said "Forces have been targeted by the home Office to focus on crimes like burglary. The only way they can afford to do that is to cut back on the number of traffic posts".
His views were echoed by a Cambridge police source who claims the force still has 76 dedicated traffic officers, a "slight decrease" since 1997, but he admits that policing roads is taking a back seat. He continued "The Home Office is concentrating more on beat officers".
The Home Office not only denies responsibility, but also refuses to admit there is a problem at all. Spokesman James Shelley said, "The Government is dedicated to tackling all kinds of crime. How a particular force deploys its manpower and resources is a decision for the chief constable of that force. It's an operational decision".
Shelley admits that a crime reduction programme which was announced two years ago focused on crimes like burglary, but he says a budget of £400 million has been made available to forces nationally to meet the programme's targets, which should mean it's still possible for them to police traffic.
Asked if he thought the reduction in traffic officers would mean more drivers will get away with traffic offences other than speeding, Shelley replied, "Not necessarily. I can't comment on what people may or may not do". He did admit there may be a general problem with police staffing levels, but insists it's being addressed. He said "We're fully aware forces need new recruits and we're striving to achieve that. It may be that a decrease in police numbers has made forces prioritise manpower, but for the first time since March 1997, the number of new recruits is outstripping the number of officers leaving the force. There are 124,614 police officers nationwide. The target is to increase that by 9000 by 2003".
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) blames the reduction of traffic officers on "operational decisions" by individual forces, but it denies the situation is cause for alarm.
ACPO spokesman Valentine Muromee-Chivero said, "It's important to stress that traffic is still a priority, but it's being policed in a different way. Targets are in place for forces to reduce road casualties. How they do it is up to them. There are new tools and resources available to forces to meet the targets, such as speed cameras", but he was not able to come up with any examples of new resources other than speed cameras.
Muromee-Chivero's attitude to speed cameras is perhaps at the root of the problem. RAC spokesman Kevin Delany thinks the scrapping of police transport divisions is a national problem and reliance on speed cameras is making the roads more dangerous for everyone. He said, "Police forces have virtually abandoned traffic policing and put all their eggs in one basket - cameras. They won't be patrolling accident black spots, they'll be responding to burglaries and armed robberies. They won't be dealing with dangerous driving, drunk driving, tailgating and a whole host of other offences."
"The only drivers who'll get caught for dangerous driving will be those who've had accidents and by then it will be too late. We need to stop them before that happens and speed cameras will not do that. It makes the roads more dangerous for everyone".
Ex-traffic cop and RoSPA spokesman Tony Carter agrees with Delany, but thinks the problem runs even deeper. He believes the few dedicated traffic officers left on our roads lack experience.
He said, "You used to have to be in the force for over five years before even thinking about joining the traffic division. It takes about five years experience to be able to do the job properly. Now you can be on the traffic division after a little over two years".
"There are traffic officers who don't even have the experience to deal with basic police work, let alone the various situations a traffic officer will encounter. I heard a story about one senior traffic officer who didn't even know what the Vehicle Inspectorate was".
The police may blame the Home Office. The Home Office may blame the police, and both deny there is a problem. So just remember, the next time you see someone driving like a fool, it's no-one's fault - it's just an operational decision.
Published by Team 749,
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Page created 1 Jan 2000.
Last updated 05 January 2002