Road safety charity in warning about deep policing cuts
Road safety charity Brake has revealed that the numbers of traffic police carrying out drunk and dangerous driver enforcement have been slashed by 11.6% in five years. With the cuts six times greater than the reduction in overall police numbers.
And now the charity is calling for the government to put a stop to these cuts, warning that more drivers will think they can ‘get away’ with illegal drunk or drugged driving.
There are five deaths and 65 serious injuries on UK roads every day and Brake says many deaths and injuries result from criminal behaviour, and all from man-made and preventable circumstances.
Last week the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) released results from its Christmas breath-testing campaign, showing the importance of roads policing in protecting the public. In December, England and Wales forces breath-tested nearly 157,000 drivers, with 5% testing positive. However, this was an 8% fall on breath tests carried out in the same period in 2010
Julie Townsend, Brake’s deputy chief executive, said: "It is crucial the government acts now to put a stop to these dramatic cuts in life-saving roads policing, by making this a national policing priority. This is crucial in safeguarding the public and preventing needless casualties that lead to terrible suffering, and it also makes economic sense. Road crashes constitute a huge social and economic burden, because of the awful implications for those bereaved and injured, and the strain on health and emergency services. Investing in roads policing, and stepping up critical checks like breath-testing, helps stop crashes before they happen, meaning less families suffering and reduced costs to the taxpayer."
Alan Jones, Chairman of the Roads Policing Group, Police Federation England & Wales, said: "I am not surprised at the findings announced in this report. Policing the roads should be a priority for government and Chief Constables: this is nothing less than the public expect. As police forces try to deal with a staggering 20% budget cut, their resources and capabilities are being stretched to a point where delivery of service is difficult to sustain. We all know the consequences of drivers who fail to heed the rules of the road or drive with complete disregard for others. The cost of cutting back far outweighs the benefits of investing in protecting a key front line service."
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