As new figures obtained by The Observer revealed the number of officers policing the roads had fallen from almost 9,000 to 6,500 in a decade, police unions and motoring groups warned last night that road death rates, which had being falling for years, were now threatening to rise.

Although road deaths are less than half the rate they were in the 1970s, the dramatic annual falls of recent years have dwindled. In 2001 they rose for the first time by 41.

In 2002 more than 300,000 people were victims of road accidents, of which more than 3,400 were killed and 36,000 seriously injured.

Critics say the Traffic Management Bill, published last week, could lead to more specialist officers going when civilian motorway managers are introduced. The Bill says 550 traffic police will be 'free to focus on other matters'.

Police and campaigners are mounting a growing campaign against the cuts, including a major debate among rank and file police at their union conference in May.

'The problem is lack of enough officers to enforce the law. This is one reason why the casualty rate is not declining,' said Brigitte Chaudhry, who heads the victims' charity RoadPeace.

The cost to the economy of lost skills and disruption on the roads has been estimated at more than £17 billion.

'If we don't get people doing proper enforcement, casualties will start to rise rather than fall - something about which we are very concerned,' said Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport Safety.

The number of dedicated traffic officers in 2001-02 was just under 6,500 - down from nearly 8,900 a decade before.

At the same time the use of speed and traffic light cameras has soared: Britain now has 5,000 speed cameras and it is estimated that they led to two million fines being imposed last year.

The Police Federation and motoring and safety groups say cameras detect only speeding, missing more dangerous drivers and people without licences or insurance.

Some forces have virtually abolished separate traffic divisions. RoadPeace claims investigation forms are being posted to accident victims in their hospital beds because there are too few officers to carry out personal interviews.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) and the Home Office said the figures on cuts were misleading because many traffic duties were being done as part of general policing.

There are plans to use 1,200 Highways Agency staff for traffic management on motorways and for traffic wardens to police minor offences such as flouting traffic signs.

However, critics claim visible police patrols are dwindling, breath tests are down and drink-driving is rising. They fear the use of Highways Agency staff will be a reason to move even more police off roads duty.

'Traffic policing was never a high priority of this Government and yet ... the first priority of a police officer is to preserve life and limb and there's no greater preservation of life than dealing with road traffic law and safety,' said Sergeant Mick Barker, who works for the Police Federation.

Critics say traffic police are important to catch criminals who often commit traffic offences - another job cameras and wardens cannot do. Persistent offenders were 'laughing at' the 'robotic policing', claimed Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation.

Richard Brunstrom, Acpo's head of road policing, said: 'Safety on the roads is core police work and a responsibility of patrolling officers, whatever their specific designation.' Cameras had 'enabled officers to be used in a more targeted manner', he said.

The Home Office backed integrated policing. 'Reductions in traffic officers, taken by themselves, can be misleading,' an official said.

A Department for Transport official said it was for the Home Office and police to decide how to use officers freed by tasks going to the Highways Agency. 'The Bill seeks to add to the police, not take anything from them.'

From:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,2763,1120621,00.html

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