Traffic cops
Dr. Joseph Froncioni may have recently stepped down as chairman of the Road Safety Council, but that only seems to have made him more vocal.
Last week he was on VSB news talking about the need for better motorcycle instruction. Today he popped up in the Bermuda Sun to make it clear what he thinks our biggest road safety problem is:
Dr. Joseph Froncioni said his successor Dr. Christopher Johnson was facing an uphill challenge if he wanted to increase enforcement — because Bermuda now has just four guys patrolling the roads.He said the figure had been whittled down from around 36 in the past ten years.
Lack of manpower, said Dr. Froncioni, was the major obstacle to improving safety on the roads.
Compare this to what he said in December 2004:
"When I got to Bermuda about 16 years ago, the Traffic Division numbered at least 30 constables. Now, on a good day there might be no more than 6 guys out there."
In other words, we've lost two traffic cops in just over a year.
I'd like to know what the Government is doing to try to reverse this trend.
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As I understand it, it is not a problem of fewer police being employed, but fewer police being "avaialable".
If we continue to move/promote police into what can only be described as desk jobs from front line policing, then you will never have more than 6 guys out there.
Posted by Martin on 09.02.06 at 07:52
This is a major problem: there are no traffic cops. The few that exist are fully deployed responding to traffic accidents.
No enforcement = no rules.
Posted by Tiger Bay on 09.02.06 at 08:45
Bruah up on your Constitution Limey. The Governor is responsible for the Police. The government is responsible for the money.The Commissioner answers to the Governor and not the Minister of Labour etc.
Posted by Rossini on 09.02.06 at 09:39
Rossini
"The government is responsible for the money"
I think you're giving the PLP too much credit .... a better description would be “irresponsible with money.”
Posted by observor on 09.02.06 at 10:31
a lesson well learned from the UBP I assure you....
Posted by Rossini on 09.02.06 at 10:33
I've said it before and I'll say it again.
We need more police walking the beat, preventing crime, and generally providing a presence and less;
(i) Hiding in the trees with radar ticketing people for "speeding" at 45-50 km/h in rush hour traffic.
(ii) "Hanging out" people watching (especially at night - Across from the Emporium Building, in front of La Coquille, outside the Aqarium. (This especially bothers me when you see speeders, dangerous drivers, etc and the policeman/women are chatting, talking on a cellphone, etc.
(iii) "Policing" outide Supermarkets, weddings, funerals, etc. If these policemen want to work overtime GREAT!! - But couldn't they work overtime doing Police work ??
The Police Service also needs a bigger budget for hiring, recruiting, training, etc. After all we gave $11 Million for CRICKET..some of that money should have gone to have more police hired. I am a big supporter of the hard work the police do, and I am not pointing a finger at the police service, but a few individuals who are there for the ride and a paycheque.
Posted by Two Cents on 09.02.06 at 10:38
I spoke to Jonathan Smith about this just before he retired.
Apparently the UK Govt. were "concerned" by the number of traffic tickets that were being issued by the police and through the Governor relayed this concern to the government of the day...the UBP. (I don't recall exactly what year it was...but pre-PLP most definately) The UBP then began to cut down the size of the traffic section.
The traffic section has never recovered from that according to Mr. Smith.
So, the "fault" appears to be with the former government for the situation Bermuda faces now...BUT the fact that the PLP have not done anything (that I am aware of) to allieviate the situation does not make them blameless either.
Posted by ace on 09.02.06 at 11:18
The Guvnor may be Theoretically responsible for running the police but in reality he is only a rubber stamp these days for senior appointments etc, his true vocation is to make sure his guest list for the lawn parties is current and the cucumber sandwiches are fresh.
The police service in my opinion suffers from poor administration at the top down and discipline is very poor with sloppy carelessness even in dress and appearance.
The cops are more like Dick Tracy cartoon characters with bald heads and designer stubble suited more to a Mel Gibson Die Hard movie or Bruce Willis.
There needs to be a major shake up and it wont come from Vereker trust me on that.
The position is now critical as getting anyone worthwhile even from abroad with such lousy living conditions are slim.
What we will find is experienced officers taking early retirement as they are losing confidence in the entire administration which is hardly surprising.
Posted by Bill Cook on 09.02.06 at 11:30
When you have the traffic officer directing traffic during morning rush hour at East Broadway not batting an eyelash as bikes weave around and by her in dangerous fashion...
Like I said, I'll volunteer to slap tickets (which hopefully will be used to suspend the really offenive cases) on the Evel Kinevals on the roads, because nobody else is.
Posted by Triforce on 09.02.06 at 12:00
Do I hear Police Cadet Program? Maybe in conjunction with the Regiment? get young people involved in the traffic department where they can earn money and get a scholarship for further education to further a career in Police Force.
Posted by SmokingGun on 09.02.06 at 12:56
I just heard from someone who was pulled over for lack of seatbelt in place. When they puller them over the belt was in fact in place due to the person having seen the cops...and had in fact simply forgotten to put it on.
Now... one would assume that the cops job was done... instead they were rude, asked questions that were none of their business and gave them a ticket.
Not only do we have too few, they are apparently socially and maybe slightly mentally retarded.
More on the roads, not harrassing middle aged, people, and certainly trying their very hardest to protect and not to harass.
What is the problem!
Posted by tong on 09.02.06 at 14:00
Would you make that Police Cadet Program conscripted?
Anyway - I don't understand why anyone would ever want to leave the Regiment for the Police force?! At the Regiment you get free Bda College & bus & ferry rides... yeehaw! ;)
Posted by Somers on 09.02.06 at 14:02
Yeah but with the Regiment you also get to carry a gun. Give the twits on mopeds a real reason to swerve.
Posted by SmokingGun on 09.02.06 at 14:35
Triforce, I was wondering the same thing about the morning traffic cop the other day.
Is she supposed to abandon her station to chase and ticket the law breakers or should she continue directing traffic and let them get away with it?
Neither seems like a satisfactory response.
So when you tell us that you're volunteering to issue tickets, are you telling us that you've signed up for the reserve police?
Posted by Curious on 09.02.06 at 15:37
Curious I was speaking somewhat tongue-in-cheek but I do wish there was some way, any way, that people recklessly and knowingly breaking the law could be stopped.
I had not investigated Police reserves at this time, but that's a good idea to at least have a look to see what it involves. I'm reluctant because my father was a police officer for over 25 years, often frustrated with the crap and advised me to never ever join the Force.
And you are correct, there is no realistic action for the traffic directing cop to take without disrupting the flow (or lack thereof) of inbound traffic. But it's saddening that people will now do the stuff that they do even when there is a police officer in the vicinity.
Posted by Triforce on 09.02.06 at 16:47
The problem guys is recruitment in the end. If you only get 7 people graduate after 20 weeks training and you have lost 10 in that time it is not going to fix things. The Police Service is at least 50 officers down on their established strength and 44 of those vacancies (currently) are in the uniform patrol division which includes traffic enforcement. If Bermudians won't join and there is no barrack space left (because no-one can afford to move out anymore on police wages) you have no new recruits. 44 missing policemen from the uniform policing is over 25% of that part of the service so its no wonder you don't see a lot of them on the street. The other divisions are only missing one or two but are still overworked for the pay they get.
The ones at weddings and supermarkets by the way are paid to come in on their days off by the establishments themselves as added security. (as are the ones you see outside the bank, MSA and the US Consulate)
Posted by bermudacop on 09.02.06 at 21:20
If we're down 25% of the full force and the biggest complaint is that there are not enough traffic cops on the road, the police are doing a better job than anyone gives them credit for.
Posted by Curious on 09.02.06 at 23:44
So if there's a manpower shortage, how come there was a full compliment of bikes and at least 4 cars roaring up de rid to dockyard and back when bonnie Prince Andrew was here a couple of month's ago??
Posted by Steve on 10.02.06 at 14:54
Oh and while I remember, 2 bikes, and at least 15 officers up at de airport on Tuesday around 12pm...both sides of de rid......
Posted by Steve on 10.02.06 at 15:02
Because bonnie Prince Andrew refused to ride the moped P had waiting for him.....
Posted by SmokingGun on 10.02.06 at 15:05
Rossini
Brush up on your Constitution Limey. The Governor is responsible for the Police. The government is responsible for the money.The Commissioner answers to the Governor and not the Minister of Labour etc.
Sorry for the delay in responding.
If the lack of traffic cops is a result of a lack of funding, then that is clearly the Government's fault.
If the lack of traffic cops is because the Government has told the Governor that they're satisified with current manpower levels, then that is clearly the Government's fault. (I believe Ewart Brown once stated that he thought the traffic policing levels were sufficient, which lends credence to this idea.)
If the lack of traffic cops is because the police are having recruitment difficulties, then the Government should be trying to help them in whatever way they can. In this case, I'd expect them to be telling us what they were doing (since there would be little point keeping it quiet).
If the lack of traffic cops is a result of decisions taken by Government House, with which the government disagrees, then I would expect them to be raising a hue and cry about it. After all, that would be just another reason to go independent, wouldn't it?
Posted by The Limey on 15.02.06 at 13:46
The manpower shortage in the Police stems from around 1989 when the UBP government decided that they were only going to provide money for 432 Police out of an establishment of 489 at that time. At that time they also stopped recruiting experienced Cops from overseas for years. When Commissioner Coxall arrived, the first thing he should have done was get the 'force' as it was then called up to full strength. Now new pension rules in the UK have driven many experienced officers back and there is no real attraction, apart from the weather, of coming here.
Posted by 32N65W on 19.02.06 at 09:55