Police Vigilante Speed Groups are Unqualified and Cause Prosecutions say Police

July 6, 2012 - PRLog -- The Driver Union has investigated complaints about a vigilante group, Community Speed Watch (CSW), see http://www.kspeat.magix.net/website#Vigilantes%20a%20worrying%20letter  & http://www.kspeat.magix.net/website#The%20Speed%20Gun%20Team%20Leader  for more, and discovered that, although much is made of the claim that only letters and warnings are sent out to drivers who are caught 'speeding' by them, the details are stored on a database where a repeat offence could lead to prosecution because of it. 'We already suspected as much' says Keith Peat an ex cop, 'so in effect this does count as a form of conviction in all but name' he says.

Further enquiries of  the Thames Valley Police Force who run CSW reveal that the supervisors have no special road safety or driving background, where one manager clearly had no idea what causes accidents by confusing 'speeding', which cannot cause accidents, with too fast which does. Nor do these supervisors know anything at all about how their local speed limits are set and so don't really have a clue as to why they are actually pointing their cameras at drivers. Says DU

In one case, at Askett in Buckinghamshire, these supervised volunteers took it upon themselves to reduce the limits by erecting their own 20 MPH signs at the site.

The Union are suggesting that drivers make it their business to divert through these vigilante villages, to assess the problem for themselves and to challenge anyone pointing cameras and to demand the identity of the operators as they are entitled to do.

The group also think that police officers themselves should, as a public duty, take a lead in showing interest in local speed limit setting and to ensure, as prosecutors, that speed limits are not set too low. 'Most speeding is actually caused by inappropriate speed limiting' says Keith Peat an ex police officer.