More cameras and police needed - Select Committee

Britain needs more safety cameras and more police to reduce the number of accidents, according to a report by the Transport Select Committee.

The report also said that traffic police had been 'marginalised', adding: "Technology must support road police officers, not replace them."

The report, Roads Policing and Technology - Getting the Balance Right, called for new technologies to be approved more rapidly.

Committee chairman, Gwyneth Dunwoody (pictured), said it was clear that safety cameras were 'effective, good value for money, and well accepted by the public'.

But Ms Dunwoody, a Labour MP, said senior officers often cut traffic policing to help balance their budgets. "You can't assume that a camera is going to replace somebody who can assess when a driver has been drinking or has been taking drugs that make them unable to drive," she said.

In a joint statement, the Home Office and DfT said the number of dedicated traffic officers had actually increased since 2002. "Technology enhances police officers' work, allowing them to do their job better and more quickly," the statement said. "But we are quite clear that technology alone cannot meet all the aims of the road policing strategy and we would not expect it to."

For the full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6101058.stm

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