New £10k speed cameras in West Mercia "will pay for themselves", says police boss

New speed cameras known as 'TrucamII' are being rolled out across West Mercia as part of a police initiative to tackle dangerous driving.

'TrucamII' can be used as handheld devices for more flexibility. They also capture and process offences much quicker than older devices and produce higher quality images.

West Mercia Police said that the cameras would cost over £10,000 each.

Deputy to the Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Bayliss, said the cost would not be an issue for the force:

"They are expensive pieces of kit, but they will pay for themselves.

"We are committed to rolling these out. They are in every part of the force at the moment, but we are going to increase the volume of them so that police have the right tools to do the job," he said.

Simon Campbell from West Mercia Police told us how dangerous speeding can be:

"It is damaging to families and the public when we have a collision.

"It is also damaging to the economy. A huge number of the crashes that occur are speed related," he said.

In 2023, 56 people died and 468 were seriously injured in collisions in the West Mercia region, with speeding being a common factor.

Mr Campbell explained the new equipment means the police can have more time to deal with further crime:

"We can take the SD cards from the camera and a system will send it to the courts, rather than us doing it ourselves.

"This frees up the officers so that they can go to another 4 or 5 places with the speed cameras or attend another incident," he said.

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