Speed Camera Information

The request was partially successful.

Dear Avon & Somerset Constabulary,
I have noticed some stories on the internet which cause me concern.

The first story involves a catering van which was allegedly photographed speeding at 103mph and the driver was sent a notice of prosecution and faced a potential driving ban.The story may be read at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-som...

The police dropped the prosecution threat when it was disputed as being an impossible speed, but that does not explain the fault.

ISSUE ONE.
Under FOI, please provide a pdf copy of the most recent calibration certificate for the camera on the A358, or a link to where the certificate may be viewed.

ISSUE TWO.
Please provide a copy of correspondence to Serco or Gatso as a result of this faulty activation being identified, and as a consequence was the camera suspended from use or any other action taken?

ISSUE THREE.
Please advise if you hold any information about the A358 camera, or any other Gatso, producing photographic evidence which seems to be inappropriate for the alleged speed and have to be discarded.

ISSUE FOUR.
The vehicle number plate would have been recorded as a result of the A358 camera recording it onto film.Please confirm if the secondary check is carried out by a qualified police employee or whether the system is automated using ANPR or some other system.

ISSUE FIVE.
In another story,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-som...
it was explained "Councillor David Hall said not only were they expensive to run, they also needed an upgrade costing £405,000".
Please explain the nature of the upgrade required,who provided the estimate for the upgrade and if it is inclusive of V.A.T at 17.5%,and the number of cameras which would be upgraded if the contract was accepted.

It is obviously a matter of concern that faulty activations may occur, even if the faulty evidence is not normally sent out,and that the cameras require some form of upgrade.

Thanking you in anticipation,

Yours faithfully,

Dennis Fallon

#Freedom of Information Requests, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Corporate Information Management Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Facsimile 01275 814667

Private
Dennis Fallon
[FOI #65596 email]
Our Reference 196/11
Your reference
Date 15th March 2011

Dear Mr Fallon,

Thank you for your request for information dated 14th March 2011 regarding
queries relating to speed cameras. This request will be dealt with under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject
to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party. In some circumstances Avon and Somerset Constabulary may be unable
to achieve this deadline. If this is likely you will be informed and given
a revised time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

Please note;

1. Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary's website (within 24 hours), some of which may
contain a link to additional information, which may provide
you with further clarification.
2. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order
to seek clarification, all other communication should be made
in writing.
3. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review
procedure.

#Freedom of Information Requests, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

1 Attachment

Corporate Information Management Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Facsimile 01275 814667

Private

Dennis Fallon
[FOI #65596 email] Our Reference 196/11
Your reference
Date 11 April 2011

Dear Mr Fallon

I write in connection with your request for information dated 14^th March
concerning speed cameras.

Specifically you asked:

Q1 - Under FOI, please provide a pdf copy of the most recent calibration
certificate for the camera on the A358, or a link to where the certificate
may be viewed.

Q2 - Please provide a copy of correspondence to Serco or Gatso as a result
of this faulty activation being identified, and as a consequence was the
camera suspended from use or any other action taken?

Q3 - Please advise if you hold any information about the A358 camera, or
any other Gatso, producing photographic evidence which seems to be
inappropriate for the alleged speed and have to be discarded.

Q4 - The vehicle number plate would have been recorded as a result of the
A358 camera recording it onto film. Please confirm if the secondary check
is carried out by a qualified police employee or whether the system is
automated using ANPR or some other system.

Q5 - In another story,
[1]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-som... it was explained
"Councillor David Hall said not only were they expensive to run, they also
needed an upgrade costing £405,000". Please explain the nature of the
upgrade required, who provided the estimate for the upgrade and if it is
inclusive of V.A.T at 17.5%, and the number of cameras which would be
upgraded if the contract was accepted.

Your request for information has now been considered and some of the
information asked for is below.

Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Avon and
Somerset Constabulary, when refusing to provide such information (because
the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice
which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption
applies.

A1 – The calibration certificate can be viewed using the following link
and clicking on serial number 4743/2031.

[2]http://www.safecam.org.uk/DownloadableDo...

A2 – No correspondence is held as Serco were not contacted and the
camera was not suspended from use. The offence was cancelled and an
apology letter was issued to the owner because of the administration
error.

A3 – No central record is held with regard to incidents where
photographic evidence was deemed inappropriate and therefore discarded. In
order to try and retrieve this information would require a manual review
of all camera offences for the last three years which will involve many
hours work and as such, under section 12 of the act this information is
exempt from disclosure as the cost of providing you with the information
is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the
cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the “appropriate
level” as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate
Limit) Regulations 2004. It is estimated that it would cost at least £450
to comply with your request.

In accordance with the Act, this represents a Refusal Notice for this part
of your request.

A4 – Secondary checks are carried out by a qualified member of police
staff.

A5 – No information is held in respect of this question. As the comment
concerned in the article provided was by a member of Somerset County
Council and it was their belief that the cameras required upgrading,
incurring the extra cost, you will need to verify this with them. I have
provided a link to their website below.

[3]http://www.somerset.gov.uk/irj/public/se...

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

Please note:

1. Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary’s website (within 24 hours), some of which may
contain a link to additional information, which may provide
you with further clarification.
2. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order
to seek clarification, all other communication should be made
in writing.
3. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review
procedure (copy attached).

<<A&S Appeals Procedure.doc>>

References

Visible links
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-som...
2. http://www.safecam.org.uk/DownloadableDo...
3. http://www.somerset.gov.uk/irj/public/se...

Dear #Freedom of Information Requests,
Thank you for your reply to my FOI query Speed Camera Information.
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/65...

I would appreciate an internal review clarification of the responses to Q2 and Q4 which still do not make sense.

QUOTE "A2 – No correspondence is held as Serco were not contacted and the camera was not suspended from use. The offence was cancelled and an
apology letter was issued to the owner because of the administration error."

CLARIFICATION POINT ONE.The camera radar apparently detected the vehicle approaching at 103mph, as the primary check,and caused the camera to be activated to record the evidence as two photographs.
The police did not subsequently suspend the camera or contact Serco because they had a reason to believe that the system was not faulty and there was a genuine explanation for the faulty radar reading, and hence the `offence` was cancelled and an apology sent.
Please clarify what was the ascertained judgement for the radar reading of 103mph and what was the nature of the apology?I would appreciate seeing a suitably redacted copy of the letter of apology to appreciate the situation.

QUOTE"A4 – Secondary checks are carried out by a qualified member of police staff."

CLARIFICATION POINT TWO
According to my mathematics regarding the secondary check,at the alleged speed of 103mph this would be 165km per hour, or approximately 22 metres in the 0.5 seconds between photographs.Please clarify if the photograph interval was set at 0.5 seconds and the distance between the road calibration marks was 2 metres, which would indicate that 11 calibration marks would have been passed.As no fault was identified with the camera and the secondary check was carried out, please clarify the nature of the administration error that was the cause of the apology.

Obviously the public must have faith that the cameras are reliable and that the requirements of Type Approval are being met.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

#Freedom of Information Requests, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Corporate Information Management Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Facsimile 01275 814667

Private
Dennis Fallon
[FOI #65596 email] Our Reference 196/11
Your reference
Date 26th April 2011

Dear Mr Fallon

I write in receipt of your email dated 23rd April 2011 requesting an
internal review regarding the response to your Freedom of Information
request.

This request has been forwarded to our internal review panel who will
respond to you in due course.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

#Freedom of Information Requests, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Corporate Information Management Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Facsimile 01275 814667

Private
Dennis Fallon
[FOI #65596 email] Our Reference 307/11
Your reference
Date 26th April 2011

Dear Mr Fallon

Further to our correspondence yesterday, 26th April, your request has been
considered unsuitable for an appeal as your questions were answered, and
now you seek further information.

As such your request for further information will be dealt with under the
terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject
to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party. In some circumstances Avon and Somerset Constabulary may be unable
to achieve this deadline. If this is likely you will be informed and given
a revised time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

Please note;

1. Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary's website (within 24 hours), some of which may
contain a link to additional information, which may provide
you with further clarification.
2. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order
to seek clarification, all other communication should be made
in writing.
3. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review
procedure.

#Freedom of Information Requests, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

1 Attachment

Corporate Information Management Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Facsimile 01275 814667

Private

Dennis Fallon
[FOI #65596 email] Our Reference 307/11
Your reference
Date 04 May 2011

Dear Mr Fallon

I write in connection with your request for information dated 23^rd April
concerning your previous FOI request and wishing to obtain further and
more detailed information.

Your request for information has now been considered and the information
asked for is below.

On occasions, vibrations can be caused when a flat bed or open back
vehicle travels past a camera causing false activations and this is one
reason that secondary checks are in place so that actual speed can be
verified as vibrations may cause a higher speed to be recorded but the
vehicle could still be speeding.

Photograph intervals are set at 0.6 seconds and the distance between the
markings is 5 feet.

On this particular occasion a number of factors came together to cause the
error. Some staff were starting their first day of viewing and it was also
the first time the system had been used following a new software
installation. The administration error was a ‘human error’ caused
either by the viewer conducting the secondary checks but not verifying the
correct speed or the viewer failing to conduct the secondary check. As
such the letter was sent stating a speed of 103mph. This speed was
subsequently challenged by the owner of the vehicle and once the error had
been highlighted an apology letter was issued immediately and the notice
of intended prosecution was cancelled.

We are unable to provide a copy of the letter sent as this is exempt by
virtue of Section 40(2) – third party personal information which is a
qualified and class based exemption and as such does not require a harm or
public interest test to be conducted. However, in order to assist you I
have provided a copy of the non personal wording used in the letter.
Please find this below.

Thank you for your letter regarding the receipt of a Notice of Intended
prosecution.

As you quite rightly pointed out, your vehicle was not travelling at
103mph and in this instance vehicle details should not have been entered
into the system.

I would like to offer you my sincere apologies for the worry and
inconvenience that this obviously caused and can assure you that the
offence has now been cancelled and withdrawn.

Yours sincerely

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Avon and Somerset Constabulary and I hope this has satisfied your request
and clarified any concerns you had.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

Please note:

1. Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary’s website (within 24 hours), some of which may
contain a link to additional information, which may provide
you with further clarification.
2. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order
to seek clarification, all other communication should be made
in writing.
3. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review
procedure (copy attached).

<<A&S Appeals Procedure.doc>>

Peter Bennett left an annotation ()

Dear Dennis,
Well done for pursuing this. Did you get any clarification of what the new software was and whether it affected the Type Approval and calibration (annual)? Interestingly, Avon & Somerset use 0.6 seconds over 5 feet spaced whereas most (apparently) use 0.5 seconds. This of course produces different independent check speeds to radar speeds. I note that the FOI answer stated the viewer was a qualified member of police staff which normally means a 'civilian' and not a constable. There is a requirement for a sworn constable to be involved in the process as to penalty or prosecutions. Your case appears to suggest that an unqualified civilian was the viewer and decider of process.