PLANS to boost Wiltshire’s Community Speed Watch team with a new civilian traffic enforcement officer have been strongly criticised by some drivers who claim the scheme could be open to abuse and a ‘recipe for disaster’.

There was a huge negative reaction from drivers to the Wiltshire Police proposals to create the new role to support more than 1,000 Community Speed Watch volunteers.

Some claim it will turn the small groups of volunteers who monitor speeds through Wiltshire’s towns and villages into ‘little Hitlers’ and ‘vigilantes’ and one driver labelled it a ‘recipe for disaster’.

Police say the new civilian staff role of Community Speed Watch Enforcement Officer will help the CSW teams tackle those determined to speed on Wiltshire’s roads.

A Wiltshire Police spokesperson said: “It should be clarified that the Community Speed Watch teams are not being given new powers to fine.

“From this month, the teams will be supported by a new civilian Community Speed Watch Enforcement Officers, who will deploy the latest Home Office approved equipment.

“This will automatically issue fixed penalty notices or letters of intended prosecution for speeding where it is appropriate to do so.”

Some drivers, responding on local social media, said the proposal could be open to abuse, with one saying: “This is the thin end of the wedge, how can you trust ‘volunteers’ to be impartial when just by volunteering they bear a grudge against motorists.”

Others, who say Wiltshire Police should crack down on speeding throughout the county, welcomed the new traffic enforcement officer role, with one person saying: “Does it matter who issues the fine, if you speed, getting caught ought to be a good idea!”

The traffic enforcement officer role is part of significant investment by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Wiltshire Police to tackle speeding.

The scheme, set up by the OPCC in 2012, returned on March 29 following the third Covid-19 pandemic lockdown with more than 1,000 volunteers across the county, who, on average, process up to 40,000 reports per year.

Under the new proposals, they will now be supported by the new CSW enforcement officer, as well as new camera and back office equipment.

Their role will be to work alongside the volunteers to collate the intelligence to develop a targeted enforcement approach across the community areas where drivers, depending on the severity of the offence, could be summonsed to court or offered a driver improvement course.

Head of Criminal Justice Paul Oatway said: “This is an important investment and role to support our Communities and the Community Speed Watch schemes across Wiltshire and Swindon.

“We have invested in the latest, state of the art, road-side camera equipment and back office processes to swiftly deal with enforcement and improved the system to administer the large levels of intelligence that is coming into us from the volunteers.

“The message is clear, motorists need to treat our communities with the respect they deserve “

For more details about Community Speedwatch, go to https://www.wiltshire-pcc.gov.uk/the-pcc-and-you/get-involved/community-speedwatch/