The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) has written to the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, regarding the inclusion of road policing as a cross-cutting priority in the recent Strategic Policing Requirement.

For the first time, the Home Office has included roads policing in its Strategic Policing Requirement, published 20th February. This high-level government document sets priorities that all police forces must address. It now recognises the importance of roads policing in disrupting crime and preventing harm. Police forces will be required to give roads policing greater attention and to cooperate regionally and nationally. Police & Crime Commissioners will be expected to include roads policing in Police and Crime Plans. This takes account of the national strategy agreed by Chief Constables last year to prevent harm and save lives, tackle criminality, drive innovation and technology, and change
minds. Inclusion of roads policing in the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) was called for by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) in its report of June 2020. It was repeated later that year by the official inspector of police HMICFRS in its highly-critical report Roads Policing – Not optional.

Some 1,700 people die on UK roads each year—more than twice the number of deaths from homicides and terrorism combined. A further 25,000+ people are seriously injured. This comes against the backdrop of a downward trend in roads policing which has dual benefits of tackling crime and safety.

PACTS Executive Director David Davies said, “Roads policing has been in retreat for a decade. The prioritisation of roads policing by the government in its Strategic Policing Requirement is a major breakthrough. While the Home Office has understandably focused on reducing crime, more roads policing will also benefit road safety.

The number of road deaths is more than twice the deaths from homicide and terrorism combined and breaches of road traffic laws are the biggest single cause of road deaths. The public support more enforcement. Roads policing provides double value: tackling those who drive dangerously often disrupts wider criminality. For example, Essex police found that almost half the drug-drive offenders had previous arrest records for serious crimes such as burglary, drug dealing and violent crime. PACTS urges the Home Office and Police & Crime Commissioners to swiftly develop plans to implement this strategic requirement and make our roads safer.”