Dorset Police’s Roads Policing and ‘No Excuse’ teams have launched a new operation in an attempt to prevent prolific road offenders from causing serious injuries and fatalities on roads throughout the county.
The ‘No Excuse’ team currently deploys to areas where the public have expressed concerns, to areas of high collisions and to areas identified through analysis as being of particular risk.
Operation Dragoon recognises that some individuals refuse to modify their driving behaviour and fail to foresee the potential consequences of their actions.
To enhance the existing method of operation, a dedicated analytical resource will now work alongside the Force Intelligence Bureau to complete more thorough research and risk assess road users reported by the public or known internally to pose the greatest threat to road safety. This will allow further refined targeting of individuals posing risks.
Individuals will be graded as ‘High’, ‘Medium’, ‘Standard’ or ‘Ungraded’ risk offenders through structured, regular reviews. ‘High’ risk targets will include those who have a recent substantial history of dangerous driving or failing to stop, a substantial drink or drug driving history, links to high level criminality and those who have increased dangerous driving behaviour despite earlier intervention.
Operation Dragoon will ensure these individuals are identified as early as possible, with positive, persistent and proportionate action taken against them. ‘High’ and ‘Medium’ risk offenders will be allocated an officer in charge, who will focus on preventing them from escalating their behaviour through engagement with the individual, their family and their friends.
Inspector Stu Pitman, Operation Dragoon and ‘No Excuse’ lead, said: “Actively engaging with our most prolific road offenders and those closest to them is an innovative concept. It is vital that we go that step further and confront dangerous driver behaviour head on.
“Road deaths should not be an inevitable result of travelling on the road network in Dorset. Officers will not only engage with offenders early on to deter a continuation or escalation of their behaviour, but throughout any criminal proceedings and after their license is returned.”
“We will also be visiting lower-level offenders to encourage them to consider the consequences of reckless driving before we are called to deal with the aftermath.”
The potential successes of the Dragoon process have already been seen in a trial period of the operation.
In May 2016, 19-year-old Liam Brown from Canford Heath was highlighted as a potential risk following two uninsured vehicle seizures and an arrest for driving whilst disqualified and using false vehicle registration plates.
The officer in charge discovered through engagement with his family that he honestly believed there would be no consequences for his actions or at most ‘just another ticket’.
When monitoring Brown’s activity, an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) hit uncovered another 23-year-old male from Blandford, also uninsured with a range of other driving offences, who had swapped vehicle registration plates with Brown.
In mid-June, Liam Brown, the initial target, was arrested, remanded and received an immediate suspended custodial sentence and a further ban. To date, engagement continues and with the support of his family, no further offending behaviour has occurred.
The 23-year-old male from Blandford is due to be sentenced on 4 October, and has pleaded guilty to offences including driving without due care, failing to stop, driving whilst uninsured and using a mobile whilst driving.
For updates on Operation Dragoon, follow @DorsetPoliceNoExcuse. Offenders will be #Dragooned.
If you have specific information relating to a suspected prolific road offender, use the ‘Do it Online’ function at www.dorset.police.uk to share your intelligence. If there is an immediate danger to road users, call 999.
