Road policing activities

[Skyryder]

Some interesting stuff here.

http://www.police.govt.nz/resources/...e-2006-07.html

36 Part Two - Road Policing Activities
6. Performance
measurement.

Is worth a look in it's own right. I just love how they have bought the competitive element (scorecard) into the Road Policing Programme 06/07 between districts............and indaviduals.


Skyryder

[Ixion]

Hmm

A major initiative in 2003/04 was the development of sector codes to assist with risk analysis and identifi cation, especially on state highways. Sector code analysis involves dividing the road network into stretches of roads, groups of intersections or geographical areas and assigning them with risk ratings based on algorithms that consider a variety of data including reported crashes.
This type of analysis has resulted in the design and implementation of crash books which are currently being implemented nationally. Crash books are analytical documents that are intended to provide long-term risk profi les of stretches of roads, groups of intersections and geographical areas within a police district or area. ...
The nationwide implementation of the crash book system began during 2004/05 a...

Risk targeted patrol plans (RTPPs) are operational tasking documents that are critical to ensure the success of the risk targeted road policing model. The primary aim of RTPPs is to allocate strategic enforcement hours to known safety risks often by location and time. RTPPs are issued to both dedicated road policing and general duties staff and require suffi cient analysis to enable the frontline supervisor to direct the delivery of strategic enforcement hours tactically in support of the objectives of the RSAP.

Now , it seems to me that these crash books should be in the public domain. The public after all, have a right to know what roads are safe and wat are not, and the information is funded at taxpayer expense. and such information could hardly be argued to be confidential

And if the police are indeed following these RTPPs , then the conclusion is obvious. And no, I'm not going to spell it out.

[Ixion]

Nope, I just read very fast and have a devious mind.

[El Dopa]

You have a lot of spare time on your hands dude :spudbn:

Generally speaking, its the propellerheads with too much time on their hands, and a semi-autistic approach to fact-crunching, who unearth the most interesting stuff - the stuff that has been well-hidden, or quietly buried somewhere in the hope that no-one can be bothered to go to the trouble of unearthing it. Usually because its embarrassing for someone.

Just making a general observation, not a specific point about this info.

[Coyote]

Too many words

[terbang]

Starts off fairly good:

Integrating safety into the land transport system
A systemic approach to land transport management builds safety in, rather than adds safety
on. Therefore safety should be considered in all transport decisions and designed into our
infrastructure.
Our road network should be designed, and our land­use planning done, in a way that
challenges the acceptability of road deaths and serious injuries, and accommodates the safety
needs of all users -- pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users and motorists.

However reading on..:

36 Part Two - Road Policing Activities
6. Performance
measurement
Quarterly performance reports alternate focus between:
· a national scorecard comparing current performance between districts; and
· an individual district's performance progress over time.

[spudchucka]

Some interesting stuff here.

Skyryder

Why don't you just join up and save yourself all the time you spend looking this crap up on the net?

[Skyryder]

Why don't you just join up and save yourself all the time you spend looking this crap up on the net?

Shit we agree on something. Just not too sure what.

1 You want me to join up

or the

2 Road Policing Programme 06/07 is a load of crap.


Skyryder

[spudchucka]

2 Road Policing Programme 06/07 is a load of crap.


Skyryder

You can please some of the people......... You know how it goes.

[Grahameeboy]

The Police have a job to do. It is obvious they have targets like a lot of civilian jobs, to achieve so not sure why this should be an issue.

I guess some guys have an issue with how targetting is spread....i.e. speeding and I guess there are times when this may have some validation, however, as Spud says you can't please everyone blah blah.

At the end of day, we know the score, we ride bikes and we have a choice.

Happy New Year and and quiet night for the Cops.....just avoid us at Busa's please and leave the sniffer dogs at home cause Dover will be there!!!

[Clockwork]

I dont personally do traffic but i have done a four month secondment there. We were expected to meet a rough number of tickets. I dont know what your winging about skyryder, if an officer is assigned to road policing duties then there has to be a way of tracking if he is actually going out and issuing Ions Tons and 1V reports....otherwise he could get away with doing nothing.

I am monitored on how many arrests i make and what problem geographical areas i have been targeting....i think its also needed to check what traffic cops are issuing out and then compare to what that is nationally.

You can never have too much information.

Surely you're not sugesting that Policemen can't be trusted to do their job!!

[scumdog]

Surely you're not sugesting that Policemen can't be trusted to do their job!!

Of course they can - it's just in the road policing side of things ACC want to see proof that their money is being used for what it was intended for.

Name me on job where there is not some form of checks and balances??

[Skyryder]

Surely you're not sugesting that Policemen can't be trusted to do their job!!

Not at all. I have some regard for the rank and file frontliners.

I am saying that the Police in as much as the Road Safety Strategy 2010, have become the enforcers of Government Policy. Road safety has now become an industry where self interested parties vie for their own media attention. This can be seen in the recent Herald story of the 27 December where Racheal Ford of the Campaign against Drugs on Roads said "Police estimates that 10 more people will die and 120 will be injured on the roads before the new year are unacceptable." This is based on an estimate and is linked to the groups opposition to the closures of drug rehabilitation centres. The group is 'useing a police estimatate to enhance their opposition to the closure of drug rehabilatation centres.

In other words not only have the police become pawns to Govt. policy they have unwittenly allowed themselves to become instraments of lobby groups.



Skyryder

[Ixion]

The argument that it is necessary for cops to give out tickets to prove they are doing their job is easily refuted. Moreover it may also easily be shown that the present practice of measuring performance by the number of tickets handed out is not in fact an effective performance measure.

The objective of road policing should be, not to "catch people", but to ensure the roads are safe.This could easily be measured by monitoring the percentage of people who were OBEYING the law. More people obeying the law means the police are doing their job and attaining their objective (which is safe roads, not prosecutions).

Of course, those who were not obeying the law would still receive tickets. But that would be incidental to the purpose of making the roads safe, not , as at present, the purpose of the job.

Moreover, the purpose of any performance or incentive scheme is to maximise the behaviour being measured. A salesman is measured on sales because we want him to maximise those. A surgeon is measured by the number of patients who live, not the number that die, because we want to maximise survival.

At present the police are measured and incentivised on the basis of bad driving. Inevitably, that will work to increase bad driving. This already happens , in many ways. For instance, if the purpose of policing is to make the roads safe, then it is best for a highway patrol car to be visible. That will cause people to be more careful to obey the law which will make the roads safer, but there will be fewer tickets given out. But if the purpose of policing is to give out tickets, it is better for the patrol car to be hidden. Then drivers will not be prompted to obey the law, and more tickets will be written. and the roads will be less safe.

And, of course, we can see every day that that is exactly what happens. The present method of measurement actually works to make the roads less safe. Because every police officer at present , and the police as an organisation, have a vested interest in ensuring that the roads are not safe. The worse the driving, the easier it is for police to achieve their targets, so they will not work to make driving better. Their incentive scheme incentivises bad driving and unsafe roads.

[MotoGirl]

Too many words

I totaly agree! I work on conclusions - don't want to decipher the information myself