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13
May 2021
New police commissioner to review controversial mobile speed cameras
North Yorkshire's new Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has announced a review of the county’s controversial and unique mobile speed camera van system.
Speaking yesterday to the media outside the police force’s headquarters in Northallerton, Conservative Philip Allott outlined his priorities ahead of taking up office.
Mr Allott, from Knaresborough, was elected to the role, which is paid a £74,400 salary, last week with a majority of 30,295 votes on first and second preferences.
Signalling a determination to take his oversight of both emergency services in a different direction to that of his fellow Tory predecessor Julia Mulligan, Mr Allott said there were “big concerns” over camera vans, which have multiplied since they were first introduced in 2011.
Despite the force’s insistence the vans are deployed at accident black spots, widespread concerns have persisted for a decade that they are being sited at places to maximise the revenue they generate rather than improve safety.
Mr Allott said:
He declined to elaborate on the concerns, but added:
Read more:
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- New Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner pledges to be ‘broad church’
County lines the top priority
In another apparent change in direction, he said he wanted to strengthen ties with councils and other bodies. He said the commissioner’s office could not work in isolation to tackle issues such as county lines drug dealers, which he ranked as his leading priority, or antisocial behaviour.
The commissioner said he would seek to forge closer partnerships with schools to identify children who act as couriers and with social services to identify vulnerable people whose homes may be used as county lines bases.
He said there were now 47 active county lines networks operating in the county, representing a huge increase on 14 months ago when Ms Mulligan revealed there were 11 drug supply lines from urban areas such as Cleveland, West Yorkshire, Liverpool and Manchester affecting North Yorkshire.
Mr Allott said:
The commissioner said while prosecuting county lines dealers would be a priority, he stressed treating the victims of drugs would be a focus for him.
He added:
He also pledged to put the needs of victims and vulnerable people above others, saying talks were under way about improving the connections between North Yorkshire and York’s CCTV coverage. He said actions to improve safety for women, both on the street and domestically, would be pursued.
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Rural crime response needs beefing up
However, the first of an extensive list of priorities that Mr Allott outlined was work to improve responses to rural crimes, such as hare coursing, thefts from farms, by strengthening the Rural Taskforce, with more officers.
During campaigning, a number of candidates highlighted how the Rural Taskforce was currently incapable of properly covering England’s largest county because it included only a handful of officers based in York.
He said the county’s size and rurality could be a key factor in many issues that both the police and fire service faced.
To respond to this, Mr Allott said he would examine increasing the number of multi-service officers who act as on-call firefighters, PCSOs and first responders in rural locations.
He said a trial of multi-service officers in Craven had proved to be “a great success”.
Mr Allott said:
Newer fire engines needed
Nevertheless he said as the county’s fire service, which has been described as among the worst funded brigades in the country, had an “elderly fleet of vehicles” and a lack of equipment for staff, he would hold “honest discussions” with the government.
He said:
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