Road Crime Campaign

August/September 1999

The 'Road Crime' campaign ran from Monday 9 August 1999 until 6 September 1999 in tandem with the ACPOS national Summer Safety Campaign. The campaign was supported by Green Flag and adopted a "4 D's" theme to highlight Road Traffic Offences categorised as 'Road Crime'.

Driver Behaviour - Persistent offenders, who drive dangerously, use inappropriate speed for prevailing circumstances, behave irresponsibly and disregard in-car safety;

Drink/Drugs Driving - Habitual drink drivers and persons known to drive under the influence of drugs;

Disqualified Drivers - Persons who are disqualified from driving yet continue to drive compromising road safety. Disqualified drivers are not covered by insurance;

Document Offenders - Firms and individuals who use vehicles without the necessary documents required by law.

The Crimestoppers Freephone telephone number (0800 555 111) was utilised as the 'one stop' hotline for the public to report 'Road Crime'. Leaflets and cards were designed and printed with the assistance of the campaign sponsor, Green Flag Motoring Assistance, and distributed to motorists and the general public.

As a result of the campaign the Crimestoppers Unit received a total of 422 actionable calls. The following figures represent the actionable calls received at the Unit during this period and are sub-divided into the force area concerned and the category of offence reported.

Table 1 - Calls Received Per Force

Central Scotland	32
Dumfries & Galloway	14
Fife	29
Grampian	50
Lothian & Borders	83
Northern	21
Strathclyde	156
Tayside	37

Table 2 - Calls Per Category

Drink Driving	191
Tax Discs	89
Speeding	33
Documents	54
Driving Licence	11
Disqualified Driving	21
Tyres	4
Seatbelts	2
Other	17

The comparative actionable calls for 1999 show an increase of 345% over 1998 (i.e. 422 in 1999 and 95 in 1998). The 422 actionable calls resulted in 32 arrests. At least two of the calls made to Crimestoppers resulted in an arrest within an hour of the information being received. This increase is directly attributable to the campaign bringing to the attention of the public how 'Road Crime' effects everyone and it should not be tolerated.

Examples of notable arrests are as follows:

Call received at Crimestoppers stating there was a male, who was a disqualified driver, drinking within a public house in the Strathclyde area and that he would be leaving within the next hour. The call was passed to the Divisional controller who in turn despatched a Traffic car. Within the hour the male was arrested and charged with driving whilst disqualified and no Insurance.

Call received that a male frequents a public house every night in the Strathclyde area and consumes numerous pints of lager. This male parks his car around the corner from the public house out of view. This information was passed to the division concerned and observations were maintained over a period of time. A few days after this call the car was stopped and the male was arrested and charged with drink driving offences.

Call to Crimestoppers reporting a disqualified driver who was driving a company car in the Strathclyde area. Observations were kept for this male and a few days later he was stopped driving the car. He was kept in custody and appeared at Court the following day, whereupon he was disqualified for a further 3 years and was fined £450.

A call was received from the Tayside Police area regarding a male who kept his neighbours awake due to his drinking habits. When the alcohol was finished he would drive his car to the shop for more. This information was passed on and observation kept, resulting in the male being arrested and charged with drink driving offences.

A one-line call to Crimestoppers stating that there was a drunk driver just about to leave a public house in the Northern Constabulary area was acted upon by Officers. A short time later the vehicle was spotted. The vehicle was stopped and the female driver charged with with drink driving offences, Breach of the Peace, Resist arrest and a drug offence.

A call to Crimestoppers reporting that a male was driving around a town in the Tayside area in a high performance car and he was a disqualified driver. The male was later stopped driving the car by Tayside Officers and he was arrested and charged with disqualified driving and other offences.

A female was the subject of a call to Crimestoppers for driving her car without a licence. Her car was stopped shortly after the call and she was charged with driving without a licence, no insurance, no M.O.T. and no road tax.

Crimestoppers Road Crime Campaign

August/September 1999

Table 1 - Calls Received Per Force

Table 2 - Calls Per Category