A police AI camera trailer that has been encroaching on a footpath for weeks now needs to be moved after it was placed beside a pedestrian crossing.
The large towable enforcement unit has been positioned off Tavistock Road, with stabilising legs and a tow bar sitting close to a dropped pedestrian crossing.
Three cameras on the unit use artificial intelligence to detect driving offences, including using a mobile phone while driving and not wearing a seat belt.
A local resident contacted Plymouth Plus, questioning why previous trailers placed outside their home have been clamped or removed, while the police camera trailer was allowed to sit there for weeks.
They were also concerned that the position of the towable unit, close to a dropped crossing, posed a risk to blind and partially sighted people.
Plymouth City Council has confirmed that it gave Devon and Cornwall Police permission to place the camera unit at this location as part of a “partnership approach to road safety.”
However, after Plymouth Plus raised these concerns to the council, they admitted that the camera unit was “slightly encroaching the footway space” and confirmed that police will now adjust it.
The council also confirmed that it takes a different approach to mobile advertising trailers and similar towable installations placed on the highway.
A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said:
“Devon and Cornwall Police asked our highways team for permission to place their camera unit in that location and it was granted, as part of our partnership approach to road safety.
“The police are permitted to deploy equipment on the highway to enforce the law and their camera unit has been placed there previously with no issues.
“It has been in place for several weeks with no complaints but, on checking today, we could see that it was slightly encroaching the footway space and the police have asked their contractors to adjust its position.
“Any mobile advertising trailers or other installations placed on our highway without permission are illegal and will be removed.”
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