A MOBILE speed camera will be available by the end of the year, it has emerged.
Assistant Home Affairs Minister Richard Vibert said procurement for the new “innovative” equipment had been “complex”.
However, he said production was now under way, with parts being manufactured in Australia and America before being assembled in Southampton and then shipped to Jersey.
Speaking at this week’s States sitting, Mr Vibert said: “The equipment is expected to be delivered in Jersey and to be ready for deployment later this year.
“It is important to note that the purpose of the safety cameras and the current States of Jersey police speed detection equipment is not for 24/7 enforcement, but rather to enhance road safety and respond to specific needs.
“I understand that the Road Traffic Jersey Law, as currently drafted, would allow for the operation of this new speed detection device.
“It is a new innovation which has proved successful in other areas.”
The assistant minister’s comments come after the Island’s police chief, Robin Smith, said a mobile speed camera was likely to be operational in Jersey this year.
The equipment certainly will operate late at night and it will target those areas where we know this activity is undertaken.”
Assistant Home Affairs Minister Richard Vibert
Mr Vibert was responding to a question from St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft, who asked what progress had been made “on introducing the necessary technology to provide 24/7 enforcement of speed limits” and any potential legislative changes that would be needed to deploy it.
Mr Vibert said that if 24/7 enforcement became necessary “then we will work with our colleague, the Infrastructure Minister, to ensure that the law is sufficient to permit that activity”.
Mr Crowcroft noted that the Island’s roads were used as a “speedway” by some drivers and asked: “Wouldn’t it make sense to send out the message that we will catch you whatever time of day you choose to go at whatever it is – 50, 60 miles an hour – around our Island roads?”
Mr Vibert replied: “We should look at the success of the equipment that’s been introduced before we consider 24/7 enforcement. It’s targeted specifically at those drivers.
“I am not going into too many details about exactly how it operates because obviously that would give a clue to some of these drivers and they might try to avoid the detection devices.
“The equipment certainly will operate late at night and it will target those areas where we know this activity is under-taken.”
