Community Speedwatch
Support communities to take action on speeding
Enabling members of the community to become police support volunteers and take action against speeding on the roads of concern within their area.
Volunteers use equipment that can monitor the speed of passing traffic and then record the details, later adding them to a database. Vehicle checks are then undertaken by the police and letters are then sent to the registered keepers advising them of their speed and reminding them of why it is a community concern.
Setting up a scheme
If you wish to set up or join a Community Speedwatch scheme speak with a local police community support officer (PCSO) or contact us to check if there is an existing scheme in your area or one nearby that might be able to expand.
If there is a scheme in your area or one nearby, make contact and see how they can assist covering your area. You may need to help them recruit more volunteers or get extra funding.
If there is no local or nearby scheme and you wish to set one up then you need to consider:
Who in your community is interested in tackling this problem?
Who in your local parish or town council will support the scheme?
Is speeding one of the concerns and priorities for the community?
Funding
Funds will be required to set up the scheme. The police don’t fund the initial costs of the equipment but will cover the costs for vetting, training and the support for back office work such as holding the database, doing the checks, sending out the letters and analysing the data.
Some schemes have sought funds from parish and town councils, county councillors, sponsorship, community grants or used existing equipment handed over by the council. We will help you explore these options. We hold a list of companies used to purchase the equipment by schemes already up and running.
Please note:
Community SpeedWatch is an educational scheme, not enforcement. It is considered as the first tier response to speeding issues.
If a problem persists, it can be escalated to tier two, meaning that enforcement can be undertaken by the police neighbourhood policing teams.