13 September 2024
The AA is calling on the Home Secretary to appoint 1,000 new roads police officers to improve road safety and help tackle wider crime.
As part of their manifesto1, Labour pledged to recruit thousands of new police officers to tackle neighbourhood crime. The AA believes 1,000 of these new recruits should form part of the road traffic section of forces across the country.
The request which was part of The AA’s own Motoring Manifesto2, follows AA analysis of the latest police workforce statistics released by the Home Office3. As of 31 March 2024, there were 4,215 traffic officers in England and Wales, a drop of 1,022 officers from the highest point on 31 March 2016 (5,237).
Safer communities and safer roads
On first glance, recruiting more traffic officers would increase the visibility of police on the roads. In a poll of 11,469 drivers conducted last month, more than half (57%4) felt that drivers could get away with careless driving due to a lack of police on the roads. Similarly, more than two fifths of drivers said offences such as using a handheld phone behind the wheel (44%), drug driving (42%), not wearing a seatbelt (46%) and using a dangerous vehicle (43%) were going unpunished due to a reduced police presence.
The wider use of technology in roads policing such as new AI cameras5 which can detect more offences than just speeding is welcome, but on 15% of drivers agree that roads policing can be carried out by cameras alone. This only enforces the need for boosting the number of traffic officers.
“More cops in cars could produce safer communities as well as safer roads.”
Interestingly, there was strong belief that more traffic officers could help fight and reduce crime beyond the road. Nine out of 10 (91%) said having more traffic police would make communities safer, while eight out of 10 believed that an increase in roads policing officers could help reduce crimes such as drug dealing, human trafficking and vehicle theft.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for The AA, said, “Be it driving offences or wider crime, public opinion suggests that too many people are simply getting away it. It’s clear that the public want to see more bobbies on the beat, so the government’s ambition to increase the number of police officers is welcome.
“We believe there should be a wider approach to tackling crime and that more cops in cars could produce safer communities as well as safer roads. A clear and visible presence is a deterrent itself to ensure better standards of driving, as well as sending a warning signal to criminals that the chances of being caught are higher than before.
“Most traffic cops catch other crimes in the act, such as discovering stolen goods, through routine stops. Similarly a camera can spot the speeding driver, but it can’t stop them if they are under the influence of drink or drugs. Investment in traffic officers does more than improve road safety, it produces safer neighbourhoods too.”
1 Change-Labour-Party-Manifesto-2024-large-print.pdf
2 aa-motoring-manifesto-2024.pdf (theaacorporate.com)
3 Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
4 Yonder received 11,469 responses from AA members to its online poll between the 12th to 19th August 2024 Yonder is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.
5 More police forces join National Highways trial of new safety cameras - National Highways