Communities urged to sign up to new Speedwatch campaign
SPEEDING motorists beware … you are being watched.
Bracknell MP James Sunderland joined with Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber last week to launch a new Speedwatch initiative.
They met at South Hill Park, where Mr Barber explained that the scheme allows communities to launch their own speed watching programmes using equipment he can supply that will work with Thames Valley Police.
Previous schemes had seen residents use their own machines which didn’t meet the necessary specifications.
“We ran a pilot last year that we’re in the process of rolling it out to existing groups to provide better support,” he said. “The data that local people can gather is fed into Thames Valley Police to make sure that local neighbourhood teams and roads policing get the real picture about the scale of speeding in our communities.”
He added: “From spring next year, we’ll be looking to recruit more people to the schemes and funding a new project that will allow more people to join a community Speedwatch.
“I’ll be providing the equipment and the training to make sure we can have a bigger impact.”
Mr Sunderland said: “The reason why it’s so important is because there’s a problem with antisocial driving, traffic noise and excessive speed. It’s really important that we curb it and adopt a zero-tolerance approach.
“I would urge the entire community to please get behind this, develop your own teams locally and let’s solve this problem.”
Before community teams are able to attend the roadside, they undergo a number of training sessions, that ensure risk assessments have been completed and protocols have been adhered to.
PC Lee Turnham, Thames Valley Police Community Speedwatch Coordinator, said: “The pilot scheme has been running since April and has proven to be a platform of individuals and police are able to work seamlessly. To that end, I am really pleased that the new platform will now be rolled out across Thames Valley within the next three months.”