What is ‘effective’ enforcement?
Enforcement is dependent on the law that underpins
it, so we could find ourselves claiming success if we
effectively divert drivers into (legal) hands-free, rather
than (illegal) handheld use - but we know that wouldn’t
necessarily have made the roads any safer.
It’s tempting to measure success through the number
of ‘tickets’ issued, but this is actually a measure of our
own activity, not of any actual safety outcome. This kind
of figure can also seem useful for promoting how busy
we have been to the public, but we might want to have
reservations about that (see the discussion of social
norms on p63).
Checking our records to see if the drivers we stop are
ever reconvicted might also yield some information, but
we would not be measuring actual reoffending if we did
this. It might be more likely that we just hadn’t managed
to catch them again.
Our section on evaluation (p25-27) should also help
you think about what it is you want to know in terms of
outcomes from your activity, and to make sure that your
definition of ‘effectiveness’ is one that really relates to
the purpose behind what you are doing. Some things
are easy to measure, but it doesn’t mean that they are a
good measure.
Some forces ask motorists to fill in questionnaires after
being stopped, which can yield interesting insight into a
range of relevant issues, such as their reasons for using
their phone, understanding of the law, and perception
of the fairness of what happened to them.
‘Effective’ enforcement also relies on officers being confident about what they are doing. Earlier research by
one of the Mobile:Engaged team 1 found that many officers were unsure about what was actually legal and
what wasn’t (and that’s no surprise given the complexities of the law and contemporary technology as we
discuss on p15-17). Being confident in using the law, but also knowing about alternatives such as ‘Driver not in
proper control’ and ‘Driving without due care and attention’ mean that officers will be more confident taking
action where it is needed.
1
Savigar, L. (2016). How can education be used to influence road safety attitudes and behaviours? An exploration of Crash Course as a diversion from
prosecution and as road safety training for employees: Report for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire – December 2016.
112