Traffic police decline of up to 62 per cent and the 'inevitable cost to road safety'
Safety experts agree that the visible deterrent of dedicated police units cuts traffic and other crime. Can drivers now do as they please?
New research from road crash victims charity RoadPeace reveals that over the past 10 years the number of traffic police has fallen by at least half in four of the 10 police regions in England and Wales.
Home Office statistics show traffic police numbers were down by nearly two thirds (62 per cent) in the South West, by 61 per cent in the East Midlands, 57 per cent in East of England and 54 per cent in Yorkshire and Humberside.
These findings back up a report by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) released in June 2020. This claims the overall number of dedicated roads policing officers in England and Wales fell by 22 per cent between 2010 and 2014, then by 18 per cent between 2015 and 2019.
PACTS adds: “The Police Federation has stated that overall there are actually appreciably fewer roads policing officers than indicated by these Home Office statistics.”
Titled Roads policing and its contribution to road safety, the PACTS study concludes: “Roads policing has been increasingly marginalised over the past decade. Specifically, the number of dedicated roads policing officers has fallen substantially.”
Victoria Lebrec, the campaign co-ordinator for RoadPeace, says: “The extent to which traffic police have been cut shows the disregard that government has to the devastation on our roads. Five people are killed every day. Many more are seriously injured. Enforcement of traffic law is absolutely essential in addressing this.”
Road casualty statistics back up the RoadPeace claims: rather than decreasing, they remain stubbornly static. Meanwhile numbers being caught drink-driving are increasing and car crime is rising too. What’s more, the small percentage of drivers who think they might be able to get away with breaking the law are emboldened to put their foot down.
Neil Greig, director of policy and research for charity IAM Roadsmart, tells us: “Interactions between drivers and police officers are going down. That means more people are potentially getting away with the so-called ‘fatal four’ of drink- and drug-driving, using a mobile phone at the wheel and not wearing seatbelts in addition to speeding.”
Between 2005 and 2010, road deaths in the UK fell from 3,160 a year to 1,990, a reduction of more than a third (37 per cent). Between 2010 and 2019, numbers have been stuck around the 1,700 mark. And last year, they increased to 1,870, the highest number since 2011.
Driving standards too appear to be declining, too. The latest Department for Transport (DfT) figures for drink-driving show that the number of people killed in crashes involving at least one intoxicated driver increased by 1 per cent in 2018 compared with the year before.
Research by the AA from 2018 found that two thirds of drivers (65 per cent) felt they could tailgate and lane-hog without fear of punishment because of the lack of police presence. The study also found that reduced numbers of traffic officers meant offences such as using a hand-held mobile phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt and driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition were being missed.
The 2018 E-Survey of Road Users’ Attitudes (ESRA2) found that car drivers in the UK believe they are far less likely to be checked by the police for committing traffic offences such as using a hand-held mobile phone or drug driving than those in other countries with similar road safety records (Australia, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands).
In its Driving Culture Survey, IAM Roadsmart found that more car owners believe driver distraction, aggressive driving, drug-driving and speeding were a greater problem than three years ago.
The charity’s Neil Greig explains: “A small minority of drivers will take advantage of a lack of visible policing. When people see this extreme behaviour, it causes a general feeling of stress on the roads. Seeing police cars around does reassure drivers.”
Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at road safety charity Brake, adds: “A visible police presence plays a vital role in deterring dangerous driving and making roads safer. Unfortunately, roads policing numbers have been slashed in recent years at an inevitable cost to road safety.”
A police presence doesn’t just affect safety. AA president Edmund King says: “Cops in cars are crucial to counter general crime. The most dangerous motoring offenders are over-represented in serious crime. An officer carrying out traffic checks caught the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe. Cameras can catch speeders but not the drug, drink and reckless drivers. We are concerned that the dramatic decline of dedicated traffic police will not only make the roads more dangerous but society in general.”
The PACTS report agrees: “Roads policing provides double value: tackling those who drive dangerously often disrupts wider criminality. For example, Essex police found that almost half the drug-drive offenders had previous arrest records for serious crimes such as burglary, drug dealing and violent crime.”
Meanwhile car crime is up by around a half over the past five years. Part of this is helped by the crooks’ determination in targeting ‘keyless’ entry systems. Around 330 vehicles a day were stolen throughout 2019. According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), payouts by its industry on vehicle theft were up by nearly a fifth (18 per cent) in the first half of 2019.
It is hardly surprising then that the PACTS report concludes that roads policing should be included in the strategic policing requirement set by the Home Secretary, that roads policing should be prioritised, and that the number of roads policing officers should be increased.
RoadPeace chair Cynthia Barlow knows first-hand the impact of shrinking numbers of dedicated police officers. After a cement lorry struck and killed her daughter in 2000, she remembers vividly her frustration when the police couldn’t tell her what had happened. Barlow did find out eventually – by paying for copies of the evidence and employing a professional collision investigator.
But it emphasised how important properly trained traffic officers are. Barlow says: “It’s important the first person on the scene knows what they’re looking for. If we don’t know what’s happening in accidents, we can’t work towards eradicating them.”
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