Speed cameras ARE being used by cops and councils to rake in fines rather than stop accidents, watchdog reveals
SPEED cameras are being used by cops and councils to rake in fines rather than stop accidents, the police watchdog revealed.
Some locations were said to be chosen because they are "good hunting grounds" for fines while safety camera partnerships stop police using driver education as an alternative.
It emerged in a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services which called for greater transparency over cameras and revenues, the reported.
It said: "Apparent unwillingness to support education over enforcement had led to suspicion among officers, including some at chief officer level, that the focus of activity was intended to increase revenue for the safety partnership.
"They gave examples of some camera sites that they believed didn't have a history of collisions or other identified vulnerabilities.
"Elsewhere, we were told that the reason enforcement took place at certain locations was that they were 'good hunting grounds', rather than because they had a history of collisions."
The number of speeding tickets issued in England and Wales has soared from 1.6million in 2011 to 2.3million in 2018.
While no centrally-held figures can show the amount raised nationally by speed cameras, the punishment is a minimum £100 fine and three licence points meaning £230million could have been raised in 2018.
The RAC's head of policy Nicholas Lyes said: "Decisions on where to deploy speed cameras must always be led by a genuine desire to improve road safety.
"So any suggestion that a decision to locate cameras in certain places is driven by raising revenue, rather than improving road safety, is unacceptable.
"Cameras have played a vital role in keeping our roads safe over the years, but the police must be able to show their deployment is about saving lives and nothing more."
The report added some forces had set up community speedwatch schemes which to change driver behaviour without prosecution.
These can involve volunteers being issued with radar guns and the details they gather can lead to a warning letter to the motorist or even a fine.
Such initiatives have been blocked by safety camera partnerships, so they could carry on sending out speeding tickets, the report said.
"We found examples where the use of partnership enforcement activity appeared to be in direct conflict with the development of a speedwatch scheme,' it added.
"In one force area, a safety partnership agreement prevented local speedwatch schemes from operating on roads where the safety partnership deployed mobile speed enforcement cameras.
"Forces and their partners need to make sure that there is transparency over how and where cameras are located.
"There are already government guidelines on this issue, but we believe that these should be refreshed to include a requirement for publication of what revenue is raised and how it is spent."
Drivers however may be able to avoid the penalty and points by attending a speed awareness course, at a cost of between £80 and £100. These fees are intended to cover the cost of providing the course.
But the HMICFRS report said the rules were open to 'misinterpretation' and 'there is the potential in some cases for revenue to be generated'.
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Fines for driving on the phone plummeted by 76 per cent from 2011 to 2017, from around 162,400 tickets to around 38,600.
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The number of breathalyser and roadside drug tests has also fallen.
The National Police Chiefs' Council lead for roads policing Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, said: 'We will carefully consider the recommendations made by HMICFRS.'