Michael Noding

🥶 This is probably the greatest free kick ever.

Scotland Yard is planning to scrap its entire roads policing unit, prompting fears London will become even more dangerous for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. The Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC) could be axed and the responsibilities spread across other teams as part of reforms across the Metropolitan Police to save money. While the unit specialises in responding to and investigating road-traffic accidents, it also works alongside other departments to prevent and detect crime on the roads. The unit is regarded as a first line of defence in the fight against serious and organised criminals who use the roads to transport illicit goods such as drugs and weapons around the capital. One Met insider told The Telegraph: “This is a really backwards step. The officers who patrol our roads do a vital job in keeping us all safe. Whether you are a driver, a cyclist or a pedestrian we all benefit from the work they do and from their years of experience.” “Having specialist teams that know their patch inside out is vital in policing. It is as important as having neighbourhood officers embedded in the community.” “Traffic cops have a lot of know-how that goes way beyond pulling people over for speeding or drinking and driving. They have a nose for the criminality on the roads and getting rid of them can only be a backwards step.” Hugh Bladon from the Alliance of British Drivers, said: “Any suggestion that the roads policing unit should be disbanded is monstrously stupid. The main problem that we have got is that we have abrogated road safety to cameras and seem to think it is a panacea, it’s not. I am astonished that anyone should suggest such a thing.” “Rather than reducing roads policing we should be increasing the number of traffic patrols because that is the only way to stop the criminal element from operating with impunity.” “These are skilled officers. They know how to drive quickly should they need to and have a sixth sense developed over the years when it comes to spotting suspicious activity on the roads.” Beverley Bell, who was the senior roads commissioner between 2012 and 2017, also criticised the plans, warning that they would result in more criminality on the roads. She said: “So much crime takes place on our road network. This feels foolhardy in the extreme. It’s not just about drinking and driving: it is the use of vehicles for crime.” “I was always banging the drum about how the roads network facilitates serious and organised crime. It will often be the traffic cops that first spot the suspicious vehicle or get a sense that something is not quite right about a situation.” “They have built up very valuable skills over years of experience and to do away with that is short sighted stupidity in my view.” Susan Hall, the Conservative leader in the London Assembly, said: “I am very concerned about this. We are losing specialists across the Met. While the Mayor swans off to the House of Lords, the Met is so strapped for cash we are losing vital parts of the police service. It is shocking.” There are more than 1,500 traffic officers in the Met patrolling the 12,000-mile road network that criss-crosses Greater London. As in many forces across the country, physical traffic patrols are being replaced by technology, with an increasing number of cameras being rolled out. Last year, there were more than 20,000 collisions on London’s roads, with 96 fatalities and 3,900 serious injuries. But the figures have been on a downward trend and it is feared that this could be reversed with the loss of police traffic specialists. A Met Police spokesman said: “We are looking at how the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC) can continue to deliver on the priorities that matter most to Londoners.” Continued…

🚨 NEW: The NHS will reward people who walk for 30 minutes a day with discounts and vouchers from next year