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Safe Speed Demands Camera Partnership Commissioner
In an extraordinary admission recently, Stephen Ladyman (Roads Minister)admitted that speed camera partnerships around the country are neither legal entities nor accountable for their actions.
Safe Speed believes that this situation is totally unacceptable, and demands the creation of an independent 'Camera Partnership Commissioner'. The commissioner will be responsible for:
- Publishing a code of practice.
- Handling and adjudicating complaints -including awards of compensation.
- Ensuring a reasonable standard of public communication, entirely devoid of threats or intimidation.
- Ensuring that camera partnerships use statistics honestly and accurately.
- Ensuring that partnership generated road safety information is highly accurate and never misleading.
- Ensuring that refunds are handled quickly, accurately and professionally when mistakes are made.
Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign (www.safespeed.org.uk) said: "While the camera partnerships remain unaccountable we should not be surprised to see them running out of control.
Their behaviour is extraordinary. They bluff, bluster and intimidate the public. They publish highly misleading statistics. They fail to inform the public even when they have made gross errors."
"If the camera partnerships remain, it is urgent and absolutely essential that we create a scheme of accountability and the Camera Partnership
Commissioner is probably the only way that this can be achieved. Department for Transport has proved itself unwilling to exercise adequate control."
Safe Speed can provide plenty of evidence, if required, to support our allegations against the partnerships.
From Hansard (House of Commons record):
"Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to which elected bodies the Safety Camera Partnerships are accountable in two-tier local government areas. [47896]
Dr. Ladyman: Safety Camera Partnerships are comprised of representatives from local authorities, the police, the Highways Agency and the magistrates courts and optional representatives from the Crown Prosecution Service, national health service trusts and the health authority.
Safety Camera Partnerships are not however a legal entity, and they complement, not replace, existing local authority and police statutory responsibilities in respect of road safety.
Safety Camera Partnerships are not therefore directly accountable to any elected bodies. However each member of the partnership does remain locally accountable to its parent body."
Ed: If Magistrates Courts are part of the partnerships then why do challenges to tickets get heard by them as they have a vested interest in finding the person guilty? -Miscarriages of justice?
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