Lancashire speed camera operative sacked

A civilian speed camera operative who was working for Lancashire constabulary has been sacked for failing to operate speed cameras in accordance with their instructions. He then lied on court papers stating that he had in fact conducted the speed checks correctly. As a result of his actions over 500 cases have had to be reversed and £35,000 worth of fines repaid.

The man, who is yet to be named, was working as a civilian speed trap operator for Lancashire constabulary. He was in fact the highest performing member of his team in terms of the number of tickets issued. The IPCC (independent police complaints commission) said that “…he was proud of his position as the top performing camera technician” & “it would appear he pursued quantity at the expense of quality – and at the expense of hundreds of motorists”

The IPCC report suggests that the operative failed to conduct basic calibration tests before carrying out speed checks. Presumably by failing to do this he managed to spend the extra time catching additional motorists. The checks should be in place to ensure accurate readings are taken by the operative. To make matters worse the operative signed court papers stating that he had carried out the checks which was in fact not true.

Recent cases of speeding drivers lying on court papers have involved criminal charges for perverting the course of justice. Indeed in the last two years the courts have handed down custodial sentences to people who have deliberately lied on speeding court papers. Although a case file was passed to the CPS in relation to this operative they have decided not to raise any charges against him. The BBC also reported that two other staff members are facing disciplinary hearings as a result of the investigation.

It is hoped that this case will send a clear message to the safety camera partnerships in Britain who have long been accused of taking inaccurate speed readings in their attempts to prosecute drivers on mass for speeding offences. While the public feel they can generally rely on the honesty and integrity of real police officers when carrying out their duties the same can not be said for target driven civilian enforcement operatives that now run the vast majority of our speed cameras.

Filed under: Traffic enforcement