Andy Cooke, Lancashire Constabulary's assistant chief constable with responsibility for roads policing has spoken out after the Evening Post reported how traffic police on Lancashire's roads had hit a five-year low.

He says: "Road policing remains one of the constabulary's priorities and I can't see a time when this will change.

"We are told time and time again by communities that they see speeding and road safety as their top concern as well – we would be foolish to ignore this.

"It is true to say that the number of road policing officers has reduced slightly over the past five years or so but there are good reasons for this – surprisingly they aren't linked to the increase in speed cameras across the county!

"There is a misconception that traffic police officers are only interested in catching speeding motorists – that is far from the truth.
Criminals travel into Lancashire from other areas and they usually get here by car.

"We have the technology, through using Automatic Number Plate Reading (ANPR) systems, to ensure that we can stop these people coming to Lancashire and deny them the use of our roads.

"Traffic officers are critical in this fight against crime.

The main reason for the reduction in numbers is mainly down to the fact that we are better at working in partnership with other agencies, making us more efficient.

"For example, escort duties on the motorway are now undertaken by Highway Agency Traffic Officers.

"Police officers aren't needed for these tasks so we made the decision to move officers to other areas of policing that required a boost, such as counter terrorism and serious and organised crime.

"The other reason is simply down to improving technology. We can do the work better and quicker than ever before.

"There are road policing units in each of our six territorial divisions and they are there to offer a quick and effective response across a number of road policing issues.

"They work closely with other agencies to address traffic problems to make the roads safer but they also target specific community concerns that may be raised at PACT meetings – these are speeding, misuse of mobile phones, seatbelts and child seats and drink driving.

"But these concerns aren't only dealt with by road policing officers and all our officers will tackle these issues as part of a neighbourhood response.

"We are totally committed to road safety and road policing officers are absolutely critical across many areas to make the whole of the county a safer place to live, work and visit.

"They are not a dying breed – they are alive and well and on a road near you."

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