'We need more speed cameras': Northamptonshire Police boss wants more technology to police county's roads

Northamptonshire Police Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet sat down with Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone in a live Q&A earlier this month.

They were asked nearly 100 questions, which they narrowed down to some key talking points in a one-hour and 45-minute sit-down talk.

One topic which was asked about a lot was the standard of driving in Northampton.

The police boss said: “A lot came through around safer roads, a lot of people concerned about driving standards and safe behaviour, but the general safety of our roads.

“And there were several around red routes and cameras. Now at the moment there's 12 locations in our county that are being considered for different designs, you know, engineering works and safety works which we call red routes. We're now conducting a full review of the red routes and I'm very keen, as is the Commissioner, for us to invest more in decent technology to assist us in terms of making the roads safer.

"We also want to work with the local authority, highways agency and other partners as well to actually make sure our roads are designed as to promote safety and make sure our roads are a good standard as well in terms of safety for road users.”

Balhatchet continued: “I want to do proper work on mapping out our road system, so we have static cameras again, speed cameras, average speed cameras, and cameras with other tech back on our roads, because I think we need more road cameras.

He added: “Technology is key, we've got to do more around innovation and technology in our county.

"We want to do a lot more work with our speed cameras per se in the county. I’m a big fan of the average speed camera. “

Danielle Stone said: “I went and sat with the speed camera, you know, and I was amazed by what I saw.

“They can see on your lap, so they can see if people are holding a phone or they haven't got their seatbelt on.”

Chief Balhatchet said: “Yeah, you heard it here first.”

In response to Chronicle and Echo’s question, the police chief ended by saying: “No, speed camera bans don't hide around corners and try and get easy offences, that's not what they're there for.

“We're there as a prevention tool, that's why mostly you see us in the daytime, because the equipment does work after dark, but actually it's better for us to be visible, because prevention's better than the prosecution.

“So we want the vans to be a deterrent, they use feedback from communities, they use different information and data sources about where they base their vans.

“We don't prosecute everyone, and those who have been caught speeding, I dare say many of you have been offered an alternative to points, alright, you have to pay to go on a course.

“And that's all about education, that's all about not just going for prosecution, but everyone, if everyone drives carefully and doesn't speed, you're not going to get any type of ticket from my speed camera.”