Less than ONE PER CENT of British cops caught speeding or going through red lights are prosecuted

Only a handful of police officers caught speeding or jumping red lights has been prosecuted for speeding or jumping red lights, it has been revealed.

Despite tens of thousands of officers being found breaking the rules of the road, only 753 were prosecuted.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act showed that 75,434 were caught speeding meaning that less than one per cent were dealt with in the courts.

The figures have led to accusations that police officers are routinely let off without proper checks while ordinary drivers automatically face three penalty points and a £60 fine.

Road safety charities said the high number of fines cancelled was 'worrying' - and it is feared that senior officers are not carrying out proper checks before letting police off.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of Brake, said: ‘These figures paint a worrying picture. We recognise that in emergency situations, especially where lives are at stake, police need to be able to respond rapidly, but this must be weighed up against the danger posed to the public - especially people on foot and bicycle - from speeding.

'We believe police and other emergency services should be doing everything possible to ensure their drivers are not putting people at risk of injury or death, and to help put a stop to the scores of serious casualties that involve emergency service vehicles each year.

'That includes having robust procedures to minimise the risks, especially around decisions around how fast drivers may go in different circumstances and environments.

'It also means ensuring that drivers are prosecuted if they have broken laws unnecessarily and endangered the public, and making sure that forces are held to account in upholding strict safety standards.'

In Leicestershire, police were clocked speeding 5,738 times over the two-and-a-half year period - but just three were prosecuted. This works out as one in every 1,912.

Overall, police have been caught by roadside cameras nationwide 75,434 times in the last two-and-a-half years, but just 753 were prosecuted.

Police forces are able to cancel tickets given to officers as long as speeding is necessary because they are responding to a 999 call or pursuing a suspect.

The figures were released to the MailOnline under the Freedom of Information Act.

The total number of officers caught speeding is likely to be far higher as just 19 out of 45 police forces provided a full response to the request.

RAC technical director David Bizley said: 'People understand that police officers responding to emergency call-outs should in general not be prosecuted, but offences committed in non-emergency circumstances should be treated as they are for any other motorist.

'People are bound to think the number of police officers prosecuted is low compared to the overall figure of those caught, so it is important that the police reassure motorists that they treat their own in the same way as everyone else caught breaking the laws of the road.'

John Giblin, Police Federation of England and Wales roads policing lead, said that police need to speed when responding to 999 calls - so it is right that they don't face prosecution.

'It is no surprise that far more emergency services will be captured on enforcement devices for exceeding the limit when responding to an emergency or call by the public for urgent assistance,' he said.

'Police officers are highly skilled and professionally trained to a very high driving standard and the law allows them to break the rules only when there is necessity to do so in order to carry out their duties.

'In doing so, an officer is expected to provide justification with necessity for any violations and are accountable for their actions.'

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said that officers had to justify their speeding before tickets are cancelled.

'All officers are required to adhere to the policy for driving standards. If a notice of intended prosecution (NIP) is issued to the driver of a police vehicle the officer is required to justify the use of the police exemptions used,' he said.

'A supervisor of at least Superintendent rank will quality assure the matter and either support the officer or not.

'If the matter is not supported the driver is required to deal with the NIP as a member of the public would.'

Original report here




(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today. Now hosted on Wordpress. If you cannot access it, go to the MIRROR SITE, where posts appear as well as on the primary site. I have reposted the archives (past posts) for Wicked Thoughts HERE or HERE or here