Traffic policing 'a low priority'

The South Yorkshire Police chief is also ACPO's head of road policing

Police forces are not giving enough weight to traffic enforcement, a police chief has told MPs.

Traffic policing is low in the scale of priorities people think police should concentrate on, South Yorkshire Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes said.

Asked to account for a fall in the number of road traffic officers, he told the Transport Committee "political realities" had to be considered.

He also stressed that road policing was a matter for all police officers.

Mr Hughes, who is also head of road policing at the Association of Chief Police Officers, was giving evidence to the committee in its inquiry into traffic policing and technology.

Speed cameras

He was asked whether traffic policing was given enough weight across the 43 England and Wales police forces.

He replied: "No, I don't think enough weight is given. There is a great deal more to be done."

He said that talking to members of the public, road policing enforcement came "very low down their scale of priorities".

Mr Hughes said he did not want to see an extension in the number of speed cameras but he welcomed plans to make camera positions more flexible.

He said the cameras had played an important part in improving road safety and they had freed up officers to deal with other road offences.