Motorists are being encouraged to spy on each other and report incidents of antisocial driving to the police under a new scheme.
Motorists are being encouraged to report antisocial driving Photo: PA Thousands of drivers have been reported by fellow motorists after being spotted speeding, drink driving or talking on mobile phones.
Anyone reported twice in a year could face police action under the scheme, named Operation Crackdown. The culprits could receive a home visit or a warning letter.
Sussex Police is trialling the campaign and has already received 20,488 reports from the public. Warning letters have been sent to 2,695, while a further 1,047 have been sanctioned for offences such as having an out-of-date tax disc.
The scheme, under which reports are submitted anonymously online, could be rolled out nationally if it is deemed a success.
But privacy campaigners have likened it to the tactics of the Stasi in East Germany, which encouraged residents to inform on one another.
1 comment:
Quite apart from the moral aspects of this Stasi like snitching system, I don't see how any charges could ever be brought as there isn't a shred of evidence that any offence has been committed, just the uncorroborated word of an anonymous grass.
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