Police accused of targeting drivers as speed courses rake in extra £12m

POLICE forces have been accused of deliberately targeting motorists to raise revenue, after it emerged they are to receive an extra £12 million a year from speed awareness courses.

More than a million drivers each year opt to attend courses, meaning they do not have to pay a speeding fine and can avoid having points added to their licence.

Under the current system, police forces are not supposed to generate income from the courses, but receive a flat fee to cover costs. Last month that fee rose from £35 to £45, meaning forces will generate at least £12million extra each year. With thousands more speed cameras being rolled out across the country, the number of drivers caught is set to soar.

Critics of the system last night poured scorn on the idea that police forces were not making money out of the courses and said that they were being “incentivised” to pursue drivers.

Hugh Bladon, of the Alliance of British Drivers,

claimed it was clear by the huge numbers taking part that forces were generating significant amounts from them.

He said: “The incentive is clearly there for the police to get people on to these courses because they benefit financially. It almost works like a bribe, saying to motorists we would give you the points but sign up to this course and you can avoid them.”

Claire Armstrong, of the Safe Speed campaign group, said it was nonsense to suggest speed awareness courses were about anything but making money.

She said: “These courses are using the police as a sales mechanism for the speed camera industry. It is so far from being about road safety that they should be embarrassed.

“Motorists are being bribed into doing these courses that are not improving road safety. It is a huge scam.”

The speed awareness courses are run under the umbrella of the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS), which ensures consistency across the 43 forces.

Jerry Moore, who helped set up NDORS, said while police forces were only supposed to recover their costs, the fee of £45 was based on an average so it was possible more efficient forces were generating extra revenue.

Two private companies run the majority of courses, but five police forces – Lancashire, Merseyside, Humberside, Cheshire and Northamptonshire – run their own, with profits put back into road safety.

A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs’ Council said: “The NPCC has helped to implement new arrangements for the funding of driver retraining courses which are transparent and accountable.

“Police forces do not profit from these courses and the financial model provides for cost recovery only.”