FAQ Details

Gatso Calibration - 696/11

Dated: 14 Jun 2010

Date of request: 12/09/2011

Date of response: 04/10/2011

Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')

Thank you for your email dated 12 September 2011 in which you made a request for access to certain information which may be held by Northumbria Police.

As you may be aware the purpose of the Act is to allow a general right of access to information held by a Public Authority (including the Police), subject to certain limitations and exemptions.  

You asked:

  1. How many fixed post Gatso (FPG) and Gatso Red Light (GRL) cameras were in use, on an annual basis, by your partnership in the past three financial years?

  2. Please confirm if the partnership have ownership of these cameras, paid in full, or any other arrangement.

  3. After the cameras have been returned following calibration please confirm if, apart from the calibration certificate, Gatsometer B.V provide a report on any faults detected and items replaced and, if so, please identify the items, including batteries, that have required replacement.

  4. After calibration, please confirm if the cameras are returned with a shutter speed of two photographs at intervals of 0.5 seconds, and if your Camera Enforcement Officers make any adjustments to the shutter speed or flash setting prior to reinstallation and, if so, what are the setting adjustments?

  5. Regarding the secondary check viewing, please advise how the viewing staff are trained for their task, who does the training, are certificates of completion provided, and are the staff given post training assessments or hard copy reference documentation. Is the work of the viewing staff audited or reviewed at intervals?

  6. For FPG please confirm the distance between the calibration lines on the road which are part of the secondary check, so that one can calculate the speed if five lines are passed.

  7. The unit cost of calibration which has been agreed with Serco for the past 3 years.

In response:

We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and I provide a response for your attention.

Please note that this request has been aggregated with your previous request, FOI 648/11 refers, due to cost/time implications, as they relate to the same subject area.

Following receipt of your request, searches were conducted with the Operations Department of Northumbria Police.  I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by Northumbria Police.

I have decided to disclose the located information to you as follows.

  1. The number cameras in use during the past three financial years were as follows:-
    2008/09 - 29
    2009/10 - 29
    2010/11 - 33

  2. The Partnership have ownership outright of the cameras.

  3. Items replaced:-

    January 2009
    - Multifuse 
    Back Light
    - Battery Indicator Lamp
    - Tension Spring

    October 2009
    - Tension Spring x 2
    - IC Clock

    May 2010
    - IC Clock x 3
    - Battery Indicator Lamp

    March 2011
    - RAFI Lamp

    May 2011
    - Washer x 6
    - Battery Indicator Lamp x 2
    - Mounting
    - Fuse Holder
    - IC Clock x 2
    - RAFI Lamp

  4. Cameras are returned with a shutter speed of two photographs at intervals of 0.5 seconds and the Camera Enforcement Officer's do not make any adjustments to the shutter speed.

  5. A small team are trained to carry out the secondary check viewing, training was initially delivered by an experienced Camera Enforcement Police Officer and a Camera Enforcement Technician, any new staff are trained by an experienced member of the viewing team.  Certificates of completion are not provided.

    Regular refresher training is delivered by the Camera Technicians, hard copy reference books are given to the viewing staff to refer to and the work of the viewing staff is audited daily.

  6. The distance between the lines is 5 feet.

  7. The unit cost per calibration (excluding VAT):-

    Up to April 2009 - £553.00
    2009/10 - £609.00
    2010/11 - £658.00

The information we have supplied to you is likely to contain intellectual property rights of Northumbria Police.  Your use of the information must be strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) or such other applicable legislation.  In particular, you must not re-use this information for any commercial purpose.


How to complain

If you are unhappy with our decision or do not consider that we have handled your request properly and we are unable to resolve this issue informally, you are entitled to make a formal complaint to us under our complaints procedure which can be found at: http://www.northumbria.police.uk/foi/disclosurelog/foicomprights.asp

If you are still unhappy after we have investigated your complaint and reported to you the outcome, you may complain directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office and request that they investigate to ascertain whether we have dealt with your request in accordance with the Act. 

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