§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ensure that new technologies are utilised and developed by all road traffic law enforcement agencies. [94507]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeNew advances in technology are being regularly introduced for police use. The Home Office has responsibility for approving technological devices for road traffic law enforcement by the police. The Home Office Police Scientific Development Branch (PSDB) has a programme of work on road policing, to support all United Kingdom police forces and road traffic law enforcement agencies, specifically the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority, the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Highways Agency, and the Government Office for London. PSDB do this by providing technical, operational and policy support as well as experimental research and development of technology applicable to traffic law enforcement and road safety.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has an established sub-committee, ACPO (Traffic Enforcement Technology), whose prime function is to 886W assess the usefulness of the new technologies being developed by manufacturers. The police must be satisfied that any new device is a genuine technical advance in helping law enforcement. All devices must also be tested rigorously by PSDB or the Forensic Science Service to ensure that evidence provided by the device is accurate and will give reliable evidence.