Full information
about speed cameras will be published by local authorities and the
police for the first time, Road Safety Minister Mike Penning
announced today.
Figures showing the numbers of accidents and casualties at camera
sites - both before and after cameras were installed - will be
published by local authorities.
And police forces will publish the number of speeding
prosecutions arising from each camera in their area, as well as
force-wide information about whether offenders are fined, complete
a speed awareness course or are taken to court.
Mike Penning said:
"We want to improve accountability and make sure that
the public are able to make informed judgements about the
decisions made on their behalf. So if taxpayers' money is
being spent on speed cameras then it is right that information
about their effectiveness is available to the public.
"That is why we want full details of accidents and
casualties at camera sites, along with the number of offences
arising from each camera, to be easily accessible. This will help
to show what impact cameras are having on road safety and also how
the police are dealing with offenders."
English highway authorities are required to either publish or
ensure publication of site by site casualty, collision and speed
information for permanent fixed camera sites as soon as practical,
and should provide the website address to the Department by 20th
July.
The information should usually include annual collision and
casualty data back to 1990 for the numbers of killed and seriously
injured people and for all personal injuries. Local authorities
which support camera enforcement financially should also ensure
that a deployment strategy is published.
The Department will set up a central hub providing links to local
websites where the information is published.
The Highways Agency will publish site by site casualty, collision
and speed information for permanent fixed camera sites on its
network or provide links to where such sites are being included in
what local authorities are publishing.
Police forces are to publish the number of prosecutions arising
from each permanent or long term temporary fixed camera site in
their area each year, along with the total number of offences
recorded by all cameras and the total numbers of offenders given a
fixed penalty notice, or taken to court and the numbers of people
opting to complete speed awareness courses.
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Notes to editors
1. The Department for Transport set up a working group to advise
on the publication of speed camera information. The
group's report is published here:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/speed-camera-information
along with a covering note from the Department.
2. The Department has accepted the advice of the report of a
working group about the publication of information related to
speed cameras except in a few areas related to offence data
3. The Department has today written to English highway
authorities setting out the requirements identified by the working
group for publication of accident, casualty and speed data. This
is further to work co-ordinated by Communities and Local
Government on local government accountability to produce a
rationalised list of central government data requirements from
local government in 2011-12. This data is amongst those councils
are required to publish locally to facilitate local
accountability, but which they are not required to submit to
central government.
4. In London the responsible organisation is Transport for London.
5. In relation to offence data the Department considers there is
a strong justification in terms of public transparency and
accountability to publish this information site by site for fixed
camera sites. So, following further dialogue with the Association
of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), site by site offence data is to
be published.
6. Annual numbers of prosecutions are to be published by police
forces (or other organisations on their behalf) site by site for
permanent, and long term (more than six months) temporary, fixed
speed camera sites. Total numbers of prosecutions/ planned
prosecutions arising from camera enforcement (whether fixed or
mobile) in a year and the disposal method (for example via
training, fixed penalty notices or court summons) are to be
published by police force area and, where practicable and cost
effective, at the local highway authority scale.
7. The Department will review the position related to
implementation of the publication of speed camera information
after six months with ACPO and the working group.
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