MPS Road Safety Activity

Report: 15
Date: 30 January 2003
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report provides additional information to that provided in the MPS Road Safety activity report presented to the Authority on 28 November 2002 specifically concerning the London Safety Camera Partnership activity and a review of serious collision investigations.

A. Recommendation

Members are asked to note the report.

B. Supporting information

Issues raised by Authority members

London Safety Camera Partnership Activity

1. The London Safety Camera Partnership (LSCP) has agreed a set of principles to develop its plans, which impose a professional, strategic approach to the operation of safety cameras. They are to:

• Examine casualty and speed data to determine the most relevant locations for active enforcement and to set casualty reduction targets
• Agree a sustainable enforcement strategy to ensure the appropriate use of enforcement tools
• Identify the levels of enforcement required from the enforcement strategy to achieve the casualty reduction targets (a reduction of 1125 Killed or Serious Injuries (KSIs) at camera sites over 5 years).

2. The distribution of Safety Cameras across London will change as new casualty sites are identified, surveyed and deemed suitable for camera enforcement. There are presently 650 fixed sites, and the Partnership has identified a further 1,000 potential areas that meet the DfT criteria. The LSCP plans to investigate 200 sites annually, installing 65 fixed units with the remaining 135 being monitored through mobile enforcement.

3. Not all KSI sites are suitable for camera installation either because the KSIs are not speed related or the location is not suitable for engineering works.

4. The expenditure (both capital and revenue) required of the Partnership to meet any increase in enforcement levels (i.e. the installation of new cameras, the employment of extra staff) has to be scoped by the anticipated income derived from the offence levels through hypothecation. Failure to expand the scheme prudently would expose the members of the Partnership to significant financial risk, the major part of which is carried by the MPS (61%).

5. For inclusion on the scheme, the Partnership submits its Operational Case to the Department for Transport (DfT) annually, with projections for the following financial year. This document sets out the enforcement strategy from which the number of offences captured and processed is established in order to achieve the projected casualty reduction, and the levels of income necessary to sustain operations.

6. The proposed annual increase in new site numbers (both fixed and mobile) has been calculated to ensure the level of camera deployments at sites with a history of KSI is maintained to ensure the operation achieves the casualty reduction targets at these sites. KSI data is reviewed at quarterly intervals.

7. Expansion of the safety camera infrastructure requires capital expenditure. The avenues to increasing the rate of expansion are twofold.

8. The first is to increase enforcement levels at the present level of efficiency of the processing office, the Central Driving Offences Unit (CDOU), Marlowe House.

9. As an example of the scale of this expansion, the Partnership could commit to expand the programme of installation for the next financial year from 65 cameras to 200 (i.e. upgrading all mobile location to fixed sites).

10. To generate the £3,800,000 necessary to purchase and install the extra 135 cameras @ £25,000 ea., CDOU would be required to increase the number of offences viewed from 280,000 to 850,000. In an already challenging recruitment environment, the consequences of this would be an increase in personnel for operations from 13 to around 30, the processing office would have to expand threefold, and the camera installations and maintenance departments would have to triple their personnel. These additional revenue costs would have to be met with further increases in viewing capacity beyond 850,000.

11. The second (favoured option) is to increase the efficiency of the processing arm of the operation to make available a greater percentage of each paid conditional offer for capital expenditure. Using the same example as above (i.e. upgrading 135 mobile locations to fixed sites), a reduction in unit costs and an increase in the conversion rate of offences viewed from 45% to 59% would result in sufficient capital to increase fixed camera sites without such significant increases in staffing and accommodation.

12. It is intended to reduce operational costs with the installation of an upgraded processing system (EROS) at the CDOU at a cost of £72k to the Partnership, together with efficiency savings to be made by each of the members of the Partnership.

13. In order to determine areas for efficiency savings on the part of the MPS, an independent review of the operational working practices employed by CDOU is currently being undertaken which includes a benchmarking analysis against other Constabulary systems. The necessary increase in conversion rates and reduction in costs are testing, but potentially achievable.

14. The current Year and Year 2 of the Partnership will see processes implemented with the intention of securing efficiency benefits by the latter half of the next financial year. The Partnership envisages further improvements over its lifetime.

Collision investigations

15. The Traffic OCU adopted the view that the formation of Collision Investigation Units (CIUs) was a necessary prerequisite to the introduction of the ACPO Road Death Investigation Manual. An initial review of the CIUs' compliance with the manual’s Statement of Investigation Standards and Road Death Investigation Model, conducted by the OCU Commander, Chief Superintendent Owen, has concluded that the essential activity requirements of the manual are fulfilled, but that further work is required to pinpoint the most effective deployment of resources within the CIUs and the Traffic OCU generally.

16. With regard to the latter, the MPS Consultancy Service (CIS) has been tasked to carry out two pieces of work: firstly, in relation to the determination of customer service satisfaction levels (including families of victims, coroners and courts); and secondly, in relation to optimal performance and staffing levels.

17. The main areas for review include:

• an assessment of the staffing level across the OCU and the functions undertaken (to ensure the prioritisation of serious and fatal collision investigations);
• the demands placed on the OCU and the changes necessary to achieve a sustainable reduction in the number of serious and fatal casualties;
• training needs for major investigations;
• number of SIOs needed, if required to attend all serious and fatal collisions;
• the number of trained FLOs required;
• the need for resources to investigate the growing number of fail to stop collisions, plus other crime related matters from serious and fatal collisions;
• the level of support from other services (photographers, IDOs, FSS and CPS) at or for fatal and serious injury collisions.

18. The Traffic OCU Commander met with Roadpeace representatives on 13th January 2003. Those present were very supportive of the CIS review, and agreed to work with the review team to determine the best way of seeking customer satisfaction levels in serious and fatal collision investigations. [1]

19. London Coroners have been contacted seeking their views on the performance of the MPS in relation to collision investigations. Several have indicated their willingness to meet with Commander Traffic and Transport. In addition, the offer of an opportunity for early comment has been made. To date, only comments relating to the consistently high standard of collision reports have been received.

C. Equality and diversity implications

Equality and diversity considerations will form part of the CIS review of the standards of service delivery provided by the Traffic OCU.

D. Financial implications

The cost of the review of CDOU working practices referred to in paragraph 13 is £15,000.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Commander Jo Kaye, MPA

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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