Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/13/1394.asp

10/17/2006

UK: Speed Cameras Replace Cops
Speed cameras in London, UK have not freed up traffic police for other duties, they have replaced every other cop.

Traffic police are becoming a thing of the past in London, England. Since the introduction of automated enforcement devices in the UK capital, one-half of Metropolitan Police traffic officers have been cut from the force. The remaining 692 officers are not even all to be found on the street as eighteen, for example, are dedicated to various training units.

London operates a larger number of automated ticketing machines than any other city in the world. Every driver is tracked upon entering the downtown area and must pay a congestion tax that is enforced by cameras. CCTV devices issue parking tickets and citations for driving in the wrong lane or making an irregular turn. With fewer cameras in the rest of the country, the slide has been a more gradual twelve percent cut since the 1996 introduction of speed cameras.

Source: Cuts in the number of traffic police have left the capitals roads lawless (Evening Standard (UK), 10/12/2006)

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