Sacked speed camera technician slammed (From This Is Lancashire)
Sacked speed camera technician slammed (From This Is Lancashire)
A SPEED camera technician has been sacked for putting ‘quantity before quality’ and causing 545 drivers to be wrongly prosecuted.
The Blackburn-based police worker was ‘proud’ of catching the most motorists, according to the Independent Police Compaints Commission.
But he failed to correctly calibrate the mobile speed camera he was using.
(does the phrase ’sad, pathetic, incompetent tosser’ spring to mind?)
And despite knowing that the correct checks had not been made, he signed documents needed for court cases to certify that the equipment had been working correctly, the IPCC said.
His actions forced Lancashire Constabulary to cancel 545 tickets, rescind 1,500 penalty points and £35,000 in fines.
And now he has been dismissed after an IPCC investigation.
Two more workers have also been suspended and are awaiting disciplinary hearings.
The results of the inquiry so far have prompted the force to launch a new training programme and introduce extra supervision of the wardens in a bid to prevent future incidents.
Naseem Malik, IPCC Commissioner for the North West, said: “This speed camera technician failed to undertake basic checks of the systems he was operating and as a result he undermined the integrity of hundreds of prosecutions.
“It would appear he was proud of his position as the top performing camera technician, but it would appear he pursued quantity at the expense of quality – and at the expense of hundreds of motorists.”
Greg Pope, MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden, said while he was not ‘anti-speed camera’ the incident had contributed to a ‘growing cynicism’ about the devices.
He said: “When drivers are wrongly fined or given points when they haven’t broken the law it undermines the system.
“Recently there was a camera on the A56 that brought in over £70,000 because motorists didn’t know it was there or that the speed limit had been temporarily reduced.
“More needs to be done to ensure confidence in the system.”
Jo Abbott, of the RAC Foundation, said: “The cameras must be properly maintained at all times and give accurate results.
“We congratulate Lancashire police in refunding the motorists who were fined by the cameras which had not been checked according to the regulations.
“This action highlights the importance of maintaining integrity and public confidence in the scheme.”
The civilian employee, who worked in the Central Processing Unit based in Blackburn, stared work in September 2007 and became the best-performing camera technician in terms of speeders caught, the IPCC said.
But the 545 tickets issued between then and May 2007 had to be cancelled after it was revealed he had failed to carry out the set procedures to ensure the distance measurement and alignment were correct before and after the camera was operated.
When his work was eventually analysed, 41 of his 435 video tapes were found to have faults, according to the IPCC.
He operated his camera in Blackpool and Penwortham.
The Crown Prosecution was presented with a file on the case but its solicitors determined there was insufficient evidence to bring any criminal charges.
Ms Malik added: “I applaud the fact that Lancashire Constabulary tackled this issue vigorously and it is worth noting that during the investigation the work of every other camera technician was checked and found to be in order. The decision of the disciplinary panel is the right one.”
Twelve mobile speed camera wardens were appointed in Lancashire four years ago on a salary of around £15,000.
It was the first time civilians had been used to catch speeders and they were introduced in a bid to free up police officers’ time.
A police spokesman said there were no financial incentives related to the number of motorists caught speeding for the technicians.
Superintendent Martyn Leveridge of the force’s professional standards department which helped the IPCC investigate, said: “The constabulary has an expectation that their staff delivers a totally professional service to the public, and will continue to take a strong and robust approach to improve standards within the organisation.
“One of the main recommendations from this investigation was a need for a review of the training of speed camera technicians.
” As a result, a full review of the training programme has taken place, as well as the supervision and processes involved in the work of the technicians.
“There are additional provisions now in place to regularly monitor the work of camera technicians in order to prevent this happening again in the future.
“There have been lessons learnt from this investigation and the constabulary will seek to progress areas of development so as to provide the highest quality of service to the communities of Lancashire.”
