Safety camera information and data

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For a period leading up to April 2007 the Department For Transport managed and monitored the deployment of safety cameras in England and Wales by individual Safety Camera Partnerships (SCP). As a part of this scheme, often referred to as ‘netting-off’ or ‘hypothecation’, specific requirements were in place to ensure transparency in terms of data about operations and the location of resources. Following the end of this scheme in 2007, DfT Roads Circular 01/07 was published that provides guidance and best practice advice on the deployment of speed and red-­light cameras from April 2007 onwards.

There is no central reporting requirement for statistics regarding safety cameras and detected offences but in 2011 the DfT published a note on the requirement for publishing information relating to speeds cameras. This stated that English highway authorities should ensure publication of ‘site by site casualty, collision and speed information for permanent fixed camera sites’. A central hub was set-up for this purpose but has not been updated since 2018 and contains many broken or incorrect links. Some details on the data catalogue specification is included in this document.

In Scotland a separate system was established that was very similar to the original DfT netting-off scheme and is still in place today. Information about the locations of cameras is provided via an interactive map on the official website.

In Wales, safety cameras are managed by GoSafe Wales which also has a dedicated website showing locations of cameras, together with collision histories and information on traffic surveys.

There is no official central list of safety camera locations in the UK although private companies do collate this data for inclusion within satnav applications.

Information on casualties and collisions at camera sites may be published by individual authorities and police forces but again, there is no central list. An official analysis of the effectiveness of safety cameras was undertaken under the netting-off scheme and links to this research, as well as other work relating to enforcement can be seen via the Road Safety Observatory website.

Information on camera offences and disposals (the end result of an offence which may include attendance at a speed awareness course) are recorded by the Ministry of Justice and published quarterly. A simple dashboard showing the statistics and more can be seen on the Roadpeace website.

 

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