I READ the article from PC Speedtrap at the weekend. I agree in part with what he says in that speed traps do slow people down (for the length of the speedtrap, then rapid acceleration afterwards), but does this preclude the police in taking responsibility for the large number of burglaries which could be reduced by higher policing levels?

We have a camera point in our road. I say a point, because a camera has to be brought along and monitored by the police in person. The camera point has been used once or twice since it was put in. The average speed is said to be 40mph ,which is too low to justify a permenant camera. By my calculations this means as many cars are doing 50mph in a 30 zone as are doing the legal limit. A child has already gone over the bonnet of a car by the school it is meant to help.

How much do the police really care? They have a budget to meet. The number of tickets they could issue doesn't pay for a camera. Is this nearer the truth? This perhaps makes a mockery of what the officer in question had to say about the object of the exercise ?

What do other readers think of speedtraps saving lives ? Would they like higher policing levels to reduce other crime instead?

Clive Hubbard

Holtspur, Beaconsfield