The Surrey police power within the UK has discovered itself on the heart of an issue after one in all its official Twitter accounts shared how some officers use Waze to encourage drivers to decelerate. In a noticed by , the division’s Roads Policing unit revealed it makes use of the crowdsourced navigation app to share deceptive data.

“We definitely don’t drop police markers on Waze at random points on our patrol, nope – never,” the unit mentioned, including a winking emoji for good measure. “An easy way to get drivers to slow down on our roads – thanks Waze.” As you possibly can in all probability guess, the tweet wasn’t acquired warmly, with some individuals accusing Surrey Police of working “phantom units” and violating the UK’s . Others didn’t go up to now, however many identified that in opposition to repeatedly posting false studies.

“Technically not false though. We are there at that very specific point in time,” the site visitors unit mentioned in response to at least one accusation of sharing deceptive data – this time utilizing a smirking emoji to punctuate its level. “Nowhere on Waze does it say the patrol has to be stationary,” it added.

Waze didn’t instantly reply to Engadget’s remark request. After the tweet attracted media consideration, Surrey Police issued the following statement:

While officers used this software to discourage harmful driving on our roads, this isn’t a tactic or coverage endorsed by Surrey Police. Innovation and expertise will all the time have an element to play in protecting our communities secure however, though well-intentioned, we all know this has brought about concern and undermines the belief the general public has in us. Media protection has claimed “phantom” items have been created. This will not be the case. Technology has not changed the presence of officers on our roads. We’re presently reviewing and addressing the usage of this tactic.

As for what prompted some to make use of the tactic within the first, the Roads Policing account prompt it was partly a response to there being fewer officers to implement site visitors legal guidelines. “We’re not responsible for the significant cuts to policing budgets over the years that decimated traffic units across the country,” the account mentioned. According to information from the UK authorities’s Home Department, as of March 2022 there have been 4,102 full-time officers policing roads in England and Wales. Just seven years earlier, that quantity was 5,237.