Organisation
Staffordshire University
Amount awarded
£24,532
Completed
2024
Uploaded to Knowledge Centre
15 April 2024
This project aimed to explore the use and effectiveness of CSW and CSW+ in reducing speeds, empowering communities and influencing perceptions of legitimacy/safety.
In interviews/focus groups, stakeholders described CSW as allowing community members to become empowered to do something about a perceived issue within their local community. Volunteers described an importance to evidencing where there is a problem of speeding. For some volunteers, CSW was perceived to have a positive impact on driver speeds, but there was also an emphasis on drivers who continue to exceed the speed limit and a recognition that CSW does not deter all speeding. Volunteers subsequently wanted police enforcement activity to complement their own and wished to receive more information about the outcome of their activity. Current relationships and information sharing were inconsistent across CSW groups/geographies. Stakeholders expressed the need for stronger relationships with the police, highways departments and other CSW groups. Finally, stakeholders discussed a potential value of CSW+ cameras but also identified limitations in its use.
Community questionnaires showed the majority of participants considered CSW to have a positive impact on their community, agreed that CSW plays an important role in tackling speed, makes them feel safer in their community and would like more CSW activity to take place. A strong majority claimed that the presence of CSW/CSW+ makes them drive slower but there was less support for letters, with almost half of participants agreeing that warning letters are too lenient.
Similar to the community questionnaire, results from the offender questionnaire found that a majority agreed that CSW is a useful way of tackling speed, plays an important role in tackling speed and CSW teams do a good job of keeping communities safe. Offenders showed greater support for warning letters then general community members. Most participants agreed that warning letters are an appropriate response to speeding and suggested that the warning letter made them want to change their behaviour, as would seeing CSW activity in the future.
In interviews with offenders, drivers reflected on a lack of visible roads policing and claimed they could self-appraise appropriate speeds. Some drivers described CSW activity in a way which undermined its validity and future success. Some rationalised their being caught by criticising the positioning/timing of activity as well as the technology (speed radar guns/cameras) used. Despite this, offenders described changes to speeds following their experience with CSW, although some claimed that would only be short-term or temporary. Mixed perceptions were expressed on the value of warning letters, with some suggesting they had educational and emotional value but others were negative about their lack of impact/meaning. Nevertheless, offenders called for greater CSW activity that was appropriately positioned, unpredictable in nature and communicated to drivers more clearly or frequently. CSW cameras were considered safer than having volunteers at the roadside in risky hotspots but as being limited in their usefulness unless followed up with outcomes appropriate to the speed observed.
Click the link below to download the project report:
https://www.roadsafetytrust.org.uk/small-grants-awarded/staffordshire-university