Community Speed Watch co-ordinator recognised with award

The Safer Essex Roads Partnership has congratulated Community Speed Watch co-ordinator, Mary Whiley, who was recognised for her outstanding work at the annual Essex Police Awards on 25 September.

Mary has led the Community Speed Watch programme in Essex since 2016 and has taken the scheme from strength to strength. She has recruited more than 600 volunteers, created 18 new groups and identified 200 new sites.

Community Speed Watch is a traffic monitoring scheme, coordinated by the Essex Police Casualty Reduction Section (EPCRS) and supported by the Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP), but managed and run by volunteers in the community.

By increasing the existing methods of enforcement, and recruiting and involving local volunteers, Community Speed Watch benefits the communities themselves by helping to reduce anti-social behaviour and the number of injuries from road traffic collisions.

Last year the team recorded more than 15,000 incidents of speeding across Essex – a remarkable 41 per day. All those motorists were subsequently contacted either via letter or in some cases (for repeat high end offenders) police intervention. Their work helped reduce the rate of re-offending to just 5.7%.

Nicola Foster, chair of SERP, said:

“Mary has taken the Community Speed Watch programme from strength to strength and now supports over 700 volunteers working in 93 groups across the county.

“These teams form an important part of a united voice in raising awareness of speeding issues within communities across Essex.

“Mary produces a brilliant newsletter each month that keeps our volunteers abreast of the outcome of their work and of SERP’s activities and campaigns. This award is fully deserved and we are thrilled that she has been recognized for her achievements.”

Mary Whiley said:

“I am honoured to have been considered for this award, not just for myself, but for everyone involved with Community Speed Watch.

“It is the result of total collaboration and commitment by all involved and I would  like to thank SERP for their support of the initiative, my colleagues at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service for their encouragement and expertise in working with volunteers, Essex Highways for the training they have provided, the police processing team at Billericay for coping with the huge numbers of letters that they have administered,  local policing teams and the Casualty Reduction team for their support.

“Lastly and most importantly, a huge thanks to over 700 fantastic volunteers who do an amazing job and without whom I would not have been nominated for this award.”

Are you interested in volunteering for Community Speed Watch?
You’ll be given full training, the role is entirely flexible and it’s completely up to you how often you’d like to take part.
Email Community.speedwatch@essex-fire.gov.uk for more details.

02 October 2018