Slow down - Community Speedwatch is back

Warwickshire Police’s Community Speedwatch (CSW) scheme is back as part of a phased reintroduction in the county as COVID restrictions continue to be eased and is asking the public to please ‘slow down’ and drive within the speed limit.

The relaunch coincides with the appointment of Chief Inspector Faz Chishty and Sergeant Dave Valente who together oversee Community Speedwatch as part of their wider speed education and enforcement role at the Road Safety Unit in Rugby that also manages the county’s speed cameras. They are supported by Inspector Sally Bunyard-Spiers as the SNT lead for CSW and Road Safety Officer, Ken Bratley who coordinates the scheme. Two new volunteer administrators have also recently joined CSW.

Chief Inspector Faz Chishty said “Speeding continues to be a concern for many communities in both rural and urban environments and we are very grateful to all the CSW volunteers who use their own time to help make Warwickshire’s roads safer for everyone. We are keen to grow the number of Community Speedwatch groups and to do everything we can to support them to check speeds in their local communities.

“Volunteers receive appropriate training and this has restarted with further training scheduled in July to give practical experience of using the speed detection devices. We have also launched a new CSW newsletter to keep our volunteers up to date on the latest news including when they can help support upcoming anti speeding campaigns.

“All of this together means it’s an exciting time to be part of a growing network of Community Speedwatch volunteers in Warwickshire.”

Community Speedwatch is a national initiative where active members of local communities join together to monitor speeds of vehicles in their local area with support from the police. In Warwickshire each group uses the LTI Speed Lasers independently purchased by either the group itself or the local parish council.

Any vehicles found to be exceeding the speed limit are referred to Warwickshire Police and receive a letter with the aim of educating drivers to reduce their speeds. However, in cases where education is ignored and there is evidence of repeat or excessive offences, even across borders follow up action will be taken.

To ensure no CSW members or the public are put at risk, a full risk assessment is carried out for each group.

If you are interested in forming a CSW group in your area, please contact your local Safer Neighbourhood team. The details of your local SNT can be found by visiting www.warwickshire.police.uk and entering your location.

For more information about CSW please visit https://www.communityspeedwatch.org