Cardboard police officers to put the brakes on speeding drivers

Pop-up officers will be used to combat speeding in Tayside.

Police will run the scheme in parts of Dundee where the cut-out policemen will be “stationed” at problem hot spots.

The models, known as “popup Jims” have already been successfully deployed in Fife and have been considered for areas of Perth and Kinross.

The life-size cutouts feature police officers holding speed guns in a bid to remind drivers to slow down.

Police Scotland said the move was a response to concerns about speeding which have been raised at local community partnership meetings.

Sergeant Lesley Mann from Police Scotland’s Tayside division worked with two local groups, Coldside community forum and Kirkton community safety partnership, to find funding for the cutouts.

Dundee partnership’s community regeneration forums in Strathmartine and Coldside agreed to provide money to the groups.

Chief Inspector Nicky Russell, local area commander for Dundee, said: “This is a fantastic initiative by the local community team to address concerns from residents.

“We will use the pop-up Jims to tackle the areas of concern as well as enforcing the issues of speeding drivers, to ensure we keep our roads safe for our communities.’

SNP Lochee councillor Alan Ross, convener of Dundee City Council’s community safety and public protection committee, said: “This is a great initiative which has had input from the local community, Police Scotland and the council to identify speeding hot spots where these pop-up Jims can be used.”