IT is time for someone to take responsibility. Today the Oxford Mail has compelling evidence that Oxfordshire’s roads became more dangerous during the withdrawal of speed cameras for eight months, just as we predicted they would last August.

Yet the people happy to hold office as leaders in our community were silent when asked whether they would finally accept a share of responsibility for this.

Recent figures showed road deaths rose from 12 to 18 over the months the cameras were off. They could be considered a good indicator about the safety of our roads, but alternatively could have been argued away as a statistical anomaly.

However, today’s revelation of a huge increase in speeding fines in the first month since the cameras came back on shows that a large number of motorists began to drive faster in Oxfordshire, because the fear of enforcement was removed.

Oxfordshire County Council and Thames Valley Police have for months been trying to skip their way out of this inconvenient argument, but cannot any longer because they and the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership were complicit in their action – and, crucially, inaction.

To his credit, councillor Rodney Rose at least gave a response to our questions about responsibility.

Chief Constable Sara Thornton has refused to even address the point.

In August, we said senior police officers stood accused of being derelict in their duty if they allowed our roads to become less safe.

We maintain that position and condemn Ms Thornton’s deafening silence over the question of accountability.

With power comes responsibility and a duty to engage in dialogue over issues which affect people’s lives. That clearly does not apply to senior police officers in the Thames Valley.