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300 get refunds in 'unsafe' speed trap



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Published Date: 08 January 2008
By Paul Fielding
POLICE are handing back 300 fines to drivers after speed guns were found to be wrongly set up.
The Lancashire force has been order to rescind the fines, including those for drivers on the Fylde, after a probe by an independent police watchdog.

Anti-speed camera campaigners say lives could have been ruined by the faulty cameras as motorists risked bans which could cost them their living.

Driver Stephen Hunter ,of Devonshire Road, Blackpool, received a cheque for £185 and had four points removed from his licence after being caught by a speed gun on Clifton Drive, South Shore, on July 18 last year.

He said: "This is a very serious thing to have happened.

"Luckily for me, the points I got did not mean I lost my licence but it could have for some people and that can be their livelihood gone.

"I was on my way to work at 7.20am when the camera supposedly caught me. I was re-doing my mortgage and my wife was getting ready to go abroad for work so with all that going on I overlooked paying the fine.

"So because it went to court I had to pay £150 with £35 costs. I just accepted it but this shows that actually if you get a speeding ticket perhaps you should question it.

"If people think they weren't speeding, they need to check instead of just taking it for granted when you get a letter through saying you were speeding."

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched an investigation last autumn after allegations that a member of staff had incorrectly calibrated mobile speed cameras and that four members of staff had failed to process court documents correctly at Lancashire Police's central processing unit in Blackburn.

An IPCC spokesman confirmed Mr Hunter was one of the people identified through the investigation.

The spokesman said: "The IPCC can confirm that the process of rescinding speeding tickets has begun as a result of information uncovered during the investigation into allegations that a member of Lancashire Constabulary staff had incorrectly calibrated mobile speed cameras.

"The investigation is ongoing, but Lancashire Constabulary has written to approximately 300 motorists whose convictions have been deemed unsafe."

Lancashire Police refused to comment until the investigation was concluded.

The full article contains 384 words and appears in Blackpool Gazette newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 08 January 2008 9:13 AM
  • Source: Blackpool Gazette
  • Location: Blackpool
 
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Bill Whitehead,

08/01/2008 11:34:22
As a confirmed speed camera policy sceptic since the very beginning, this is no surprise. On a national level it scares me to think just how many times this sort of thing goes on and it's about time government took notice of proven complaints like this to re-evaluate it's stance on speed cameras and the people who're allowed to use them. I doubt anyone in the land would resent the things if they actually worked and I believe this case is just the tip of the iceburg. The hatred for speed cameras must not be put down to simply disgruntled drivers anymore, the appeal process should be altered so that it isn't so daunting to challenge them financially, then we'd discover just how many of these units are faulty or baddly setup and why thousand upon thousands of drivers are being convicted each year while there's no real tangible reduction in road casuaties except in the counties that don't run speed cameras!
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straighttothepoint,

08/01/2008 18:03:51
Once again this government (police) are targeting the majority of road users with their stealth tax !I love the way they are wrapped up in speeding offences.Today there was a van parked on Preston New rd. as i was heading east bound outside (the usual spot) premium bonds. Wouldn't he be better served pointing his dodgy calibrated laser gun somewhere near a school at that time ? Obviously the speed cameras on Preston New rd. aren't enough so he sits there waiting for the motorist who speeds up after the static camera ! Well done bet the force is proud of you ! You are spending our tax payers money well eh ? Why don't you get looking for those lost discs with all our personal information on that have gone missing ! Oh and here's a thought for you whilst your pointing your laser gun ! We know exactly where one cow with Mad-cow-disease is located among the millions of cows in England, but you haven't got a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of you !
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Bill Whitehead,

09/01/2008 09:17:09
A good point has been raised in other articles relating to this and all the other faliures of cameras across the country.

It's not just about returning the fines, some of these 'unsafe' convictions, could have resulted in loss of license and therefore loss of a job and earnings destroying a persons life, are they going to be compensated fully?.

It is really quite scarey that the government were considering increasing the points and fines for offences in view of such high conviction statistics, when the question remains, 'just how many of these convictions are actually accurate?'

The faliure of this policy to actually 'apprehend' a speeding driver and determine if proceedings are actually necessary and appropriate has brought about this faliure in policy and should be considered a huge political embaressment by this government.

Just how many thousands of innocent drivers are being criminalised by these cameras, no doubt there are some drivers who would be travelling so fast that they deserve to be convicted, but are all the convictions less than 5mph above the limit accurate? because thats where the huge bulk of convictions are, a very small margin of error.

No real improvement in casualty reduction has been shown, except in those counties who don't run camera partnerships.

Therefore I demand a return to genuine road safety practices, proven in the past with actual qualified genuine police officers using apprehension methods on the roads again and this current absurd farcical camera policy run by civilians who have clearly exceeded their ability to make the roads safer to be retired as a complete and utter faliure.
4

yimitier,

lancashire 10/01/2008 15:06:47
300+ letters sent out but only one published? It appears that the Con-Stabulary are only prepared to comment when the press find something out! Hardly a transparent and independent (IPCC) investigation. More like having to pull teeth to get to the truth. What does "incorrectly set up" mean? For a period of over six months it appears that cameras were "incorrectly" set up. This is a high level of incompetence or was it done deliberately to obtain revenue from the public?
What does "failing to process court documents" really mean? 4 members working together failing to process court documents and then simply moved elsewhere- was it some sort of scam to stop prosecutions - was it a conspiracy? Could they make prosecutions " time out" or even "disappear"? How could they do this? Was it for financial gain? If not how could it happen - how long had it been going on? Is it a criminal investigation or a cover up paint job with damage limitation as its aim?
Many, many questions but little information from the "Public Watchdog" The IPCC. There seems very little "public interest" here, but a very large amount of self interest.
The investigators should make it clear to the public at large exactly what they are investigating. After all this quango has been funded directly from the pockets of the members of the public ever since it started.
Let's hope that at the end it won't be left to The Health & Safety to finalise a solution as in a recent tragic high profile case that the IPCC failed to resolve!!!
5

Pond Hall,

East Lothian 04/03/2008 12:57:17
Bill

you'll be glad to hear that the first speed camera is going up
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