Gatso Calibration and Training

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Dear Lothian and Borders Police,
I would like to request a FOI disclosure which is basically to understand the annual money payments to Serco and Gatso for the calibration and maintenance of cameras, staff training, and how the speed is calculated as part of the secondary check.
Q1. How many fixed post Gatso (FPG) and Gatso Red Light(GRL) cameras were in use, on an annual basis, by your partnership in the past three financial years?
Q2.For these cameras, for the past three financial years, what were the total cost amounts paid(TCAP) for the annual calibration of these cameras, identifying the TCAP to intermediate agents such as Serco and the company Gatsometer B.V, and the additional amounts of V.A.T added ?
Q3.Please confirm if the partnership have ownership of these cameras, paid in full, or any other arrangement.
Q4.Please confirm if the calibration contracts (CC) have been agreed for a fixed term with break penalty clauses or negotiated annually, if the CC are inclusive of a greater contract regarding maintenance, and who signed the contracts on behalf of the partnership.
Q5.After the cameras have been returned following calibration please confirm if, apart from the calibration certificate, Gatsometer B.V provide a report on any faults detected and items replaced and, if so, please identify the items, including batteries, that have required replacement.
Q6 After calibration, please confirm if the cameras are returned with a shutter speed of two photographs at intervals of 0.5 seconds, and if your Camera Enforcement Officers make any adjustments to the shutter speed or flash setting prior to reinstallation and, if so, what are the setting adjustments?.
Q7.Regarding the secondary check viewing, please advise how the viewing staff are trained for their task, who does the training, are certificates of completion provided, and are the staff given post training assessments or hard copy reference documentation. Is the work of the viewing staff audited or reviewed at intervals?
Q8.For FPG please confirm the distance between the calibration lines on the road which are part of the secondary check, so that one can calculate the speed if five lines are passed.

Yours faithfully,
Dennis Fallon

Lothian and Borders Police

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Dear Lothian and Borders Police,

Dear FOI,
The purpose behind Q2 of my recent FOI is to calculate the unit cost of calibrating one Gatso Speed and one Gatso Red light camera.
If it is troublesome for you to add up the individual payments to Serco for calibration it will be acceptable to simply know the agreed calibration payment for each camera type over the three year period to assess the trend.

Yours faithfully,

dennis fallon

Lothian and Borders Police

Thank you for emailing Lothian and Borders Police.  This office, Force
Information Unit, operates Monday to Friday 8am - 3.45pm.  Please note
that your email will not be dealt with outwith these hours. 

If you require an immediate response please dial 0131 311 3131.  If it is
an emergency please dial 999.

Thank you.

This email is privileged, confidential and subject to copyright.  Any
unauthorised use or disclosure of its content is prohibited.  The views
expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the views of
Lothian and Borders Police.

P Please, consider your environmental responsibility. Before printing
this e-mail ask yourself: "Do I need a printed copy?"

Lothian and Borders Police

Dear Dennis,

Thank you for your email, which has been dealt with under the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002.  I have answered you questions in turn.

Q1. How many fixed post Gatso (FPG) and Gatso Red Light(GRL) Cameras were
in use, on an annual basis, by your partnership in the Past three
financial years?
Lothian and Borders Safety Camera Partnership operates the following
amount of Gatsometer speed enforcement sites and Gatsometer red light
enforcement sites.'

2008/2009 - FPG -77     GRL -22
2009/2010 - FPG - 71    GRL- 22
2010/2011 - FPG - 74    GRL - 22

Q2.For these cameras, for the past three financial years, what were The
total cost amounts paid (TCAP) for the annual calibration of These
cameras, identifying the TCAP to intermediate agents such as Serco and the
company Gatsometer B.V, and the additional amounts of V.A.T added ?
The following amounts were paid to SERCO in the years stated for
calibration of the Fixed Camera Units in the Lothian & Borders Safety
Camera Partnership Area:

2008/2009 - £15,839.20 ex VAT
2009/2010 - £14,673 ex VAT
2010/2011 - £15,421 ex VAT

Please note that the Partnerships does not pay VAT

There are no amounts paid to Gatsometer BV in the periods stated.

Q3.Please confirm if the partnership have ownership of these Cameras paid
in full, or any other arrangement.
All sites and cameras are owned by either the Roads Authority or the
relevant Council dependant on where the camera is located.

Q4.Please confirm if the calibration contracts (CC) have been Agreed for a
fixed term with break penalty clauses or negotiated Annually, if the CC
are inclusive of a greater contract regarding Maintenance, and who signed
the contracts on behalf of the Partnership.
Only GATSO and SERCO can calibrate the equipment, and there are no
contracts in place.  Costs are set and agreed annually for this work by
the Partnership Manger.

Q5.After the cameras have been returned following calibration Please
confirm if, apart from the calibration certificate, Gatsometer B.V provide
a report on any faults detected and items Replaced and, if so, please
identify the items, including Batteries that has required replacement.
Only the Calibration Certificates are issued to the Partnership when a
camera has been calibrated, with no additional paperwork.  If there are
any faults with the equipment it would not pass the calibration.  Details
of the faults identified and the repairs carried out are retained by
Gatsometer BV and SERCO.

Q6 After calibration, please confirm if the cameras are returned With a
shutter speed of two photographs at intervals of 0.5 seconds, and if your
Camera Enforcement Officers make any Adjustments to the shutter speed or
flash setting prior to Reinstallation and, if so, what are the setting
adjustments?.
There are no adjustments made to the shutter speed on return from
calibration.  Flash settings maybe adjusted for greater light intensity
but are not part of calibration and are a separate piece of equipment and
are not paired with any camera/radar combination.  The flash setting has
no connection with how often the images are taken.

The time between the two exposures for Gatso BV TYPE 24 AUS is 0.5
seconds. The Gatso BV TYPE 36 RLC is no longer in use within the Lothian
and Borders area. When this type of camera was used there was a 1.0 second
interval between the flashes.

Q7.Regarding the secondary check viewing, please advise how the Viewing
staff is trained for their task, which does the training, Are certificates
of completion provided, and is the staffs given post training assessments
or hard copy reference documentation. Is the work of the viewing staff
audited or reviewed at intervals?
Viewing and confirmation of an offence in the Lothian & Borders area is
carried out by Police Officers.  When the Partnership was set up all the
staff were trained by SERCO.  Training is thereafter cascaded by
experienced and trained Police Officers to new members of staff - Police
Officers.  This ensures that all staff that view films or images for
evidential purposes are suitably trained for the role in accordance with
the ACPO Code of Practice for Operational Use of Enforcement Equipment.

Q8.For FPG please confirm the distance between the calibration Lines on
the road which are part of the secondary check, so that One can calculate
the speed if five lines are passed.
The markings on the road are secondary markings and are not calibrated. 
There is no laid down distance and can vary by both area and site. The
majority of secondary markings painted on the road within Lothian &
Borders Safety Camera Partnership are at 2 metre intervals. 

I hope this is of assistance to you; however, if you have any questions
about the above or I can help in any other way, please do not hesitate to
get in touch with me again.  However, under the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002, you have the right to appeal if you are dissatisfied
with the way in which we have dealt with your enquiry. This should be done
within 40 working days of receiving this email.  If you wish to appeal
please contact Rachel Watson, Head of Force Information Unit, Lothian and
Borders Police, Police Headquarters, Fettes Avenue, Edinburgh, EH4
1RB.   Please note that subsequent to this internal review there is a
right of appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle,
Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS.

Kind regards,

Louise Gollan
Force Information Unit
Lothian and Borders Police

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Dear Ms Gollan,
Thank you for your helpful reply,but I would appreciate clarification of three points.

Reference to Q2,it appears that different calibration costs are made for FPG Cameras and GRL cameras, but as the total cost data for both cameras is pooled the individual camera type costs cannot be calculated.

CLARIFICATION POINT ONE.
For each of the three years 2008-2010 what were the calibration costs for One FPG and for One GRL camera.

Reference to Q5,after the cameras are returned from annual calibration you are not advised of any work or battery changes that were necessary.
I find this surprising as this is different from when I leave my car in for its annual MOT and I am informed,and charged,for replacement parts.

CLARIFICATION POINT TWO.
Serco charge hundreds of pounds for the few hours it takes to calibrate the cameras.
I presume it is true, but please confirm if the calibration costs are annually constant and inclusive of any replacement parts required.
As Serco have a monopoly,are the calibration costs negotiated and confirmed by the Home Office or ACPOS or does the partnership negotiate independently?

Reference Q8, I note from Q6 that for the FPG the photo intervals are all set at 0.5 seconds after calibration, but the Q8 answer says that some FPG may have different distances between the calibration lines.

CLARIFICATION POINT THREE.
For the 74 FPG sites currently in use please confirm the site numbers for those that do not have a line spacing of 2 metres and confirm the line spacing at those sites.

I am not subject to any prosecution but simply researching the costing arrangements and standards for enforcement.

Thanking you in anticipation,
Yours faithfully,

dennis fallon

Lothian and Borders Police

Dear Dennis

Request for Information - Gatso Calibration and Training

Thank you for your email, which has been dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. I will answer your questions in turn.

CLARIFICATION POINT ONE.
For each of the three years 2008-2010 what were the calibration costs for One FPG and for One GRL camera.

The cost to calibrate a speed camera and red light camera for 2008, 2009 and 2010 are as follows:

Year Fixed Pole Gatso Gatso Red Light
2008 - 2009 £533 £430
2009 - 2010 £609 £452
2010 - 2011 £658 £527

CLARIFICATION POINT TWO.
Serco charge hundreds of pounds for the few hours it takes to calibrate the cameras. I presume it is true, but please confirm if the calibration costs are annually constant and inclusive of any replacement parts required. As Serco have a monopoly, are the calibration costs negotiated and confirmed by the Home Office or ACPOS or does the partnership negotiate independently?

The calibration costs are set by Serco. Prior to any work or calibration being carried out to a safety camera, Serco provide an estimate of how much the work will cost.

CLARIFICATION POINT THREE.
For the 74 FPG sites currently in use please confirm the site numbers for those that do not have a line spacing of 2 metres and confirm the line spacing at those sites.

All Gatso speed cameras use secondary markings that are spaced at 2 meters apart. The speed cameras that use secondary marking at different intervals are at camera sites that use different technology and are not manufactured by Gatso ie RedSpeed cameras.

If you have any questions about the above or I can help in any other way, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me again. However, under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, you have the right to appeal if you are dissatisfied with the way in which we have dealt with your enquiry. This should be done within 40 working days of receiving this email. If you wish to appeal please contact Rachel Watson, Head of Force Information Unit, Lothian and Borders Police, Police Headquarters, Fettes Avenue, Edinburgh, EH4 1RB. Please note that subsequent to this internal review there is a right of appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS.

Yours sincerely

Louise Gollan
Force Information Unit
Lothian and Borders Police

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Dear Ms Gollam,

Thank you, and your colleagues, for your very helpful and high quality information.Very creditable service on behalf of Lothian and Borders police.

Yours faithfully,

dennis fallon

Lothian and Borders Police

Thank you for emailing Lothian and Borders Police.  This office, Force
Information Unit, operates Monday to Friday 8am - 3.45pm.  Please note
that your email will not be dealt with outwith these hours. 

If you require an immediate response please dial 0131 311 3131.  If it is
an emergency please dial 999.

Thank you.

This email is privileged, confidential and subject to copyright.  Any
unauthorised use or disclosure of its content is prohibited.  The views
expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the views of
Lothian and Borders Police.

P Please, consider your environmental responsibility. Before printing
this e-mail ask yourself: "Do I need a printed copy?"