THE\u00a0number of traffic police officers in England and Wales has fallen by almost a quarter in four years, according to government figures.<\/p>\n
The total number of traffic officers across the country fell from 5,635 at the end of March 2010 to 4,356 by the end of March 2014, according to the Home Office. In South Yorkshire, the number of roads police officers has been cut from 150 to 90.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only two forces in the country, Suffolk and Warwickshire, have seen an increase in their traffic units, while the largest drop, of 76 per cent, was seen in Devon and Cornwall.<\/p>\n
Pete Williams, head of external affairs at the RAC, said the figures made a “mockery of motoring law” with officers no longer available to catch drivers committing offences.<\/p>\n
“If there are not enough police on the road, we can introduce all the new rules we want, but those breaking them just will not get caught,” he said. “While cameras are good at catching speeders and drivers who go through red lights, offences that relate to general poor behaviour at the wheel still rely on a police officer to enforce them.”<\/p>\n
It comes as the number of people killed on UK roads rose by one per cent to 1,711 in the year ending September 2014. The number of children killed or seriously injured increased by three per cent, while the number of overall road casualties of all severities rose by five per cent to 192,910.<\/p>\n
The Institute of Advanced Motorists blamed “many years of government cutbacks and the resulting drop in visible policing” for the increase.<\/p>\n
“It is disappointing that after many years of solid falls in the numbers of people killed and injured on our roads, the government has taken its eye off the ball,” said Neil Greig, IAM’s director of policy and research.<\/p>\n
Neil Bowles, Chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “You can travel the length and breadth of the country, up and down the motorways without seeing a police officer\u00a0these days. It\u2019s dreadful.<\/p>\n
“The public don\u2019t like speed cameras, they prefer to see officers out and about.”<\/p>\n
But a Home Office spokeswoman insisted that police had enough resources as crime had fallen by more than a fifth under the Coalition Government.<\/p>\n
“What matters is how officers are deployed, not how many of them there are in total,” she said. “The reduction in crime nationwide demonstrates there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels, the visibility of the police in the community and the quality of service provided.”<\/p>\n