The Dundee car crime crackdown is moving up a gear with initiatives to tackle illegal motorists being spread across the city.
Dangerous, disqualified, drunken, uninsured and unlicensed motorists are being targeted by police and crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers.
Their campaign to persuade people to “shop” their neighbours whom they suspect are taking the wheel illegally was launched before Christmas and focused on particular parts of the city.
More than 300 offences were detected and now the effort is being rolled out city-wide. Thousands of Crimestoppers postcards are being delivered to addresses all over Dundee where police suspect people may still be driving despite being banned. They will also be placed in post offices, libraries, community centres and other public sites to encourage people to anonymously report drivers they suspect may be breaking the law.
Police will also carry out more roadside checks to capture drivers who are on the road without insurance or without road tax or MoTs.
Inspector Grant Edward, head of Police Scotland’s Tayside division road policing unit, said: “We want to make the streets and pavements of Dundee safe for everyone, and that means tackling drivers who should not be on the road.
“Not only are these people a danger to other roads users and pedestrians, their presence on the road can also cause huge problems for law-abiding drivers.”
“A banned driver has been banned for a good reason and the law has dictated that they should not be driving. The perils caused by people who drive under the influence of alcohol are well known.
“Drivers who don’t have insurance cause immense problems for people they crash into and there are drivers whose vehicles are not fit to be on the road.
“We will deal with all of these people robustly, and this is what this campaign is designed to do.”
The inspector continued: “Neighbours often know if the person next door or across the street is driving when they shouldn’t be, or can know if someone is getting behind the wheel after coming out of a pub, club or hotel.
“We encourage these neighbours to contact us or, through this scheme, to contact Crimestoppers where they can pass on what they know anonymously and in complete confidence. This intelligence will then come to us and we will deal with these drivers.
“We will be delivering the postcards right across Dundee and will be helped by community wardens. We will also be putting them in public places to spread awareness of what people can do to report driving offenders.”
Sergeant Donald Walker of Dundee South sector said: “This initiative is similar to the Ditch a Dealer scheme where people were encouraged to contact Crimestoppers with information about drug dealing.
“We need information about drivers who should not be on the road, and the postcards will now be delivered to addresses across Dundee to give us this intelligence – and we will act on this intelligence robustly.”
Since the scheme started at the beginning of last month, more than 300 motoring offences have been detected in the Dundee area.
There have been 24 dangerous drivers; ten disqualified drivers, 208 uninsured drivers and 63 unlicensed drivers.
Eighty of the vehicles involved in these offences have been seized by police because of the risk to the public of them continuing to be on the road.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “We fully support Crimestoppers’ crackdown on selfish drivers who have no right to be behind the wheel and are a danger to themselves and to other road users.
“We encourage the public to play their part by reporting anyone who continually flouts the law.
“By using Crimestoppers they can do so in the knowledge that their information remains anonymous and they are making the roads safer for everyone.”
Crimestoppers, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, is being seen as an increasingly valuable weapon in the battle against crime.People can anonymously call 0800 555 111 to pass on details of crimes or suspicious activity, safe in the knowledge that their identities will not be revealed.