Members of Suffolk’s Special Constabulary spent over one thousand hours making the county’s roads safer as part of National Specials Weekend.

The weekend, which was held on 6th and 7th February, is an annual event where thousands of volunteer officers across the country take part in dedicated patrols and operations based around a particular crime reduction issue. This year’s theme was Roads Policing.

One hundred and fifty three Specials joined regular officers and staff from the Roads Policing Unit, Neighbourhood Response Teams and Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) to carry out road safety enforcement checks, focusing on speeding, use of mobile phones, driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs or without insurance, and seatbelt use. Officers were on patrol at mobiles sites across the county as well as at a multi-agency operation held in Felixstowe on Sunday 7th February.

The results are as follows -

· 544 vehicles were checked by Specials

· Seven arrests were made for drink driving, possession of drugs, criminal damage and assault

· 36 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) were issued for speeding

· 3 FPNs issued for using a mobile phone whilst driving

· 21 FPNs issued for not wearing a seat belt

· 26 FPNs issued for parking offences

· 93 drivers were warned about their manner of driving

· 21 Vehicle Defect Rectification Notices were issued

· One vehicle was seized for having no insurance

· 12 drivers were reminded not to leave valuables on show in their vehicles whilst unattended.

At the site in Felixstowe Suffolk Constabulary Specials and regular officers were joined by representatives of VOSA, Suffolk Trading Standards and HM Revenue and Customs –

· 16 prohibition notices were issued

· 58 defects were dealt with, including faulty brakes, lights, tyres, seat belts, suspension, windscreen wipers and steering

· 18 lorries and two cars were dipped to test fuel with no offences reported

· Trading Standards checked 31 vehicles with no offences reported.

Special Superintendent Dean Knight organised the weekend, he says, “The weekend went extremely well and the results are testament to the hard work the Special Constables, regular officers and PCSOs put in over the two days. The Specials volunteered 1004 hours of their time. I am very pleased that my officers were able to support the Safer Neighbourhood Teams, as roads policing issues such as speeding and parking are priorities for many of the teams. We had several comments from members of the public praising officers and staff for the work that they did over the weekend in their communities.

“As well as carrying out the mobile patrols, officers also assisted with the RAF parade in Bury St Edmunds and continued to operate Public Order patrols on the Friday and Saturday evening in support of the night time economy. I would particularly like to thank Special Inspector Gary Smith who organized the multi-agency event at Felixstowe; due to the success of this operation the Special Constabulary will look to run similar operations in other areas of the county during 2010.”

Suffolk’s head of Roads Policing, Chief Inspector Mike Bacon, adds, “I'm delighted to see the results from the Special Constabulary Road Safety weekend. Tragically people are killed or seriously injured on the nation's roads every day, and this campaign has highlighted Suffolk Constabulary's commitment to road safety and enforcing those offences that put road users in danger.”.

Further information on Special Constables can be found at www.policecouldyou.co.uk/specials , and for further information on road safety in Suffolk, visit www.suffolkroadsafe.net