Police remove speed radars

Police have confirmed that as part of a review of equipment used by frontline officers some speed radars will be taken out of patrol cars and not all will necessarily be replaced.

Frontline officers say they had been advised 400 Stalker detection units, which are leased, are to be removed from police vehicles as part of efforts to cut $21 million from the police operating budget. There are 1000 Stalker units in patrol cars around the country. Officers said they feared many speeding motorists would now escape without penalty.

Inspector Mark Stables, of the road policing group at Police National Headquarters, said police would not be left without relevant equipment to do their jobs.

A lot of the Stalker units were starting to move past their use-by date and new technology was being phased in over the next three to four years, Mr Stables said. After the evaluation there might be fewer radar detectors than there were now.

- NZPA