95% of Staffordshire speed cameras are switched OFF
Ninety five per cent of Staffordshire’s speed cameras are turned off it has been revealed.
Out of 272 fixed cameras only 14 are active, Freedom of Information figures have revealed.
The Staffordshire Road Safety Partnership (SRSP) first cut the number of units in 2011 to save money.
Initially they would not state how many but it soon emerged around 130 had been axed. The partnership still displays a map of where all of the cameras are but does not state which ones are working or not.
Cannock Chase District Council member Carl Bennett, who sits on the Staffordshire Police and Crime Panel, said: “The concern is nobody knows where the 14 are. But I think even the ones that are not working should remain. It is a deterrent, people do slow up. As the police get more funding more should be turned on.”
Stafford Borough Councillor Christine Baron, who is on the authority’s crime prevention panel, said: “That number is far too low. What is the point in paying to have them installed if you are not going to have them working. The trouble is, while they can still work as a deterrent people find out which ones are not working if they, their friends and family go through them and they don’t get a ticket.”
Speaking on behalf of the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership, Helen Fisher, Cabinet Support Member for Highways and Transport at Staffordshire County Council said: “We use a range of initiatives to help keep our roads safe and address poor driving behaviour. These include, driver education programmes, Community Speed Watch schemes and school based campaigns like 20 is plenty.
“We also use a range of enforcement measures through the partnership including static, mobile and average speed cameras.”
Staffordshire Police was unable to comment.
