A NEW partnership has launched in a bid to tackle speeding traffic.
Following a successful pilot scheme, social enterprise Community Speedwatch (CSW) Online will partner with Thames Valley Police (TVP) to improve road safety across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
CSW Online was founded by Jan Jung and Simon Mansfield in 2012 to help local speedwatch groups organise their activities.
Now, it could provide the model for all community road safety schemes in the Thames Valley, as TVP looks to trial its online platform across the region.
Mr Jung said he is “delighted” to be working with the force.
“The Thames Valley is strategically important to the joined-up speedwatch organisation, not only because it is a highly active commuter belt but also because it is the gateway between the north and south,” he said.
“The road network across the three counties consists predominantly of narrow rural roads where way too many vehicles speed dangerously through villages without concern for the residents’ safety or well-being.
“We appreciate that the police cannot be everywhere all the time, but the public can and that is exactly where the strength of well-organised community speedwatch steps in to play a vital role.”
Under the new partnership, TVP will now begin offering training and support to local speedwatch volunteers, as well as launch a new pilot scheme to trial the system across the three counties.
Beginning with one pilot in Buckinghamshire, it will be extended to Berkshire over a six-month period.
Matthew Barber, deputy police and crime commissioner for the Thames Valley, said: “I’m really excited about this new scheme and the additional support that we can provide to volunteers.
“Cutting speeding across Thames Valley can save lives and a strong community-led speedwatch scheme can make a real difference.
“Not only will the new scheme provide better backing for volunteers, comprehensive training, and new equipment, but it will also feed information directly into the police.”
Mr Barber said persistent offenders and hotspot locations can be identified and followed up for police enforcement.
“Together, we can make our streets safer,” he added.
Before community speedwatch teams can be deployed to the roadside, they will undergo a number of online and outdoors training sessions, including risk assessments.
To find out more about CSW Online, visit: communityspeedwatch.org/FRONT-v2-Home.php
