The processing of offenders-whose responsibility?

All driver induced traffic violations can be enforced with the assistance of a camera in some form. For many years police officers have used the evidence obtained from an in-car video camera to support the prosecution of moving traffic offences. They can attach video cameras to speed detection devices for both attended and remote use. Cameras can also be used to detect bus lane and junction offences. Automatically triggered cameras are used to detect speeding and red light running offences. Even vehicle emission offences can be remotely detected and then recorded on video film. The only traffic offences remaining beyond the scope of camera detection concern vehicle defects. The term camera detection to talk about camera enforcement is a very considerable over-simplification. Enforcement has two stages, first, detection of the offence and secondly the prosecution of the offender. All that the camera does is to detect the offence. The processing of the offender to prosecution remains a very laborious procedure. This processing of offenders is clerical work, usually performed by civilian staff employed by the police force. The question is whether in the future this work should continue to be the responsibility of the police or should be transferred to the local authority.