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'Driver Ticket Targets' Given To Police

Police officers across the UK are being given targets in a bid to catch speeding motorists. Chiefs in Norfolk have told the county's police force to focus on speeding drivers and those caught without seatbelts. Officers in Hampshire were also given orders to tackle those motorists caught committing driving offences.

The local force must meet their monthly target of issuing five speeding tickets per month and arresting 24 motorists for other road offences such as driving without car insurance.

The AA president commented: "Traffic police performance should be judged in terms of reducing accidents, not in terms of the number of tickets issued.

"We believe that sometimes education and discretion are more effective than prosecution. If police are turned into automatic ticket issuers, it doesn't help anyone."

The Association of British Drivers said: “This is part of a trend. Motorists are being targeted more to raise revenue and to meet the target mania of central Government.

Norfolk rank-and-file officers condemned the order as “a number-crunching exercise” to penalise motorists. They warned that it will wreck their relationship with drivers by removing their discretion to deal with incidents as they see fit. Often having a quiet word with the motorist about speeding can have more of a long-term effect than an anonymous ticket from a machine issued through the post.

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