25 Jul 2025
St Albans’ only traffic camera has been broken for more than a year – with motorists regularly seen jumping the lights.
The device in Watson’s Walk has been out of action since at least June 2024, a Freedom of Information request by the St Albans Times revealed.
The camera penalises motorists who jump the red light at the junction of Watson’s Walk and London Road.
It previously reaped thousands of pounds in fines – in 2019 alone the camera caught 1,325 cars.
A spokesperson for HCC admitted they were aware of the issues with this camera, and said the county council and the police are working together to resolve this.
He explained that the Hertfordshire Safety Camera Partnership carries out annual inspections of their camera equipment to ensure it is in working order, contracting the equipment’s supplier, Cubic or Truvelo, for the job.
He added: “We also get feedback from police staff if something appears to be malfunctioning.”
But there are no procedures in place to ensure regular checking outside these timeframes or to deal with faulty cameras: “There is no set policy, but all cameras are officially annually checked, together with operatives indicating problems should they arise.
“We raise orders to fix those issues that are affordable within the budget year. More serious or complex, expensive issues may take longer to resolve.”
The Watson’s Walk camera has not been operational for more than a year, which means it falls under two different budgets, yet it has still not been repaired.
District councillor Juliet Voisey, who represents St Peter’s ward where the camera is located, said she is concerned to hear it is defective: “It’s imperative that we have working surveillance here for the safety of all that use this junction heading onto London Road.
“The traffic lights are set back from London Road and those that attempt to jump the lights risk colliding with vehicles on London Road as the lights change the other way.”
Although Herts police are not responsible for the maintenance and operation of the cameras, just the prosecutions, we believe the disfunctional device is an obvious safety concern which warrants attention.
However, when asked for a response from the Constabulary, we were told to speak to the county council as they were responsible for its maintenance, rather than any suggestion that they were taking the matter seriously and working in partnership with HCC to get it addressed.
Jonathan Ash Edwards, Herts police and crime commissioner, was also reluctant to be drawn on the issue.
He said: “Safety cameras are owned and maintained by Hertfordshire County Council as the highways authority.
“The police prosecute traffic offences based on information from the cameras. This camera in St Albans has an outstanding technical issue which has been reported by the police to HCC and the manufacturer over a number of months. I hope HCC and the manufacturer will be able to resolve the matter swiftly.”
