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Community Speed Watch Initiative relaunched following successful pilot |
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An improved Community Speed Watch scheme has been rolled out across the county after a successful trial in 2025, with more than 40 groups signed up. The new approach makes it more accessible and easier for volunteers to take part. Community Speed Watch is a volunteer-led initiative run by Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team in partnership with Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone. The programme empowers local residents to take an active role in improving road safety by helping to reduce speeding in their communities. Under the new scheme, for a small cost, each Community Speed Watch group has its own speed monitoring equipment, replacing the previous system where devices had to be shared across communities on a month-by-month basis. This meant availability was limited and monitoring periods were shorter. The scheme is now more accessible. Volunteers can operate the new devices - that are quicker and easier to set up and run - when it is suitable for them, allowing more flexibility. The new equipment and format was successfully piloted in Staverton last year and has since been rolled out across all existing and new groups. The Community Speed Watch scheme is designed to be preventative, encouraging safer driving from road users to reduce risk, not to enforce penalties. Any community group with concerns about speeding and road safety in their area can sign up. The Safer Roads Team assess each proposed location to ensure that it is suitable and safe for the Community Speed Watch to monitor there. The members will then receive training from the Team on how to use the equipment and record vehicle details.
Danielle is part-funding the programme to help make the process more accessible for volunteers and tackle road safety issues. She said: “Road safety is one of my top priorities, and it is something that residents regularly raise with me. I’m pleased to see the scheme reformed, with new easier to use equipment. “The Community Speed Watch volunteers generously give their time to help keep their neighbourhoods safer, and the scheme can now give them the flexibility they need to continue making a real difference.” Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team Manager, Matthew O’Connell, said: “Speeding continues to be one of the main concerns for residents across the county, whether they live in one of our larger urban areas or smaller rural communities. “To have so many people who are passionate about improving road safety is just fantastic, and we are very grateful for the continued efforts they have made to both their communities and the Force through their volunteering. “I have no doubt their significant level of commitment makes a real difference and helps to improve road safety and save lives through the invaluable data they provide us as well as the awareness they raise on the dangers of speeding.”
The groups pay a fee of £150 for the equipment. A further £150 is funded by Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone. | ||||
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