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Laser 'jammers' helping drivers beat radars

Date October 2, 2012 Christopher Knaus

Drivers are using legally sold laser jamming technology to render speed cameras and some handheld speed guns useless, police say.

The laser jammers, which are legally sold in Western Australia, are often innocuous in appearance, designed to look like conventional parking sensors.

The technology works by blocking the lasers used in some types of speed cameras, including fixed laser cameras and handheld laser cameras used by police.

In its latest annual report, ACT Policing has raised serious concerns that the devices could cause problems for routine traffic enforcement.

Police say the technology, while legal to sell, is illegal if used to interfere with police equipment.

The laser jammers is just one example of the big challenges being faced by law enforcement agencies due to the dizzying speed of technological development.

''Keeping pace with these ongoing changes in our operating environment, remaining contemporary, and maintaining best practice in the technological environment is a challenge for all law enforcement agencies world-wide,'' ACT Policing's annual report said.