The driver who installed a laser jamming device in his work van to evade speeding tickets has been issued a suspended jail sentence, fined £3000, and subjected to a two-month curfew.
After fitting a Laser Star jamming device to a VW Transporter van, Jason Moore was convicted of perverting the course of justice by a jury at Swansea Crown Court for obstructing a laser speed camera operator from Dyfed-Powys Police in establishing the speed of the vehicle.
The court was told by James Hartson, the prosecutor, that in September 2018, the van was observed driving at high speed as it approached the speed camera located near Nantyci Showground on the A40, St Clears, approaching Camarthen.
When trying to determine the speed of the vehicle, the camera operator encountered an error message on the device. However, the operator had been trained by experts at Road Safety Support to identify the unusual circumstances that could lead to the appearance of this error message.
Dyfed-Powys Police, as members of Road Safety Support, sought the expertise of Steve Callaghan, the company's forensic video analyst and laser jammers specialist, for assistance.
Mr. Callaghan was sent a copy of the video and confirmed the visibility of a suspect device in the video images. Additionally, he noticed that the laser signal jammers was flashing light from the van's grille while error messages were being produced by the laser speedmeter.
After Mr. Callaghan's preliminary examination and recommendations to Dyfed-Powys Police, the van was recovered to enable testing of the device and evidence recovery.
A detailed report was prepared, documenting the examination findings and the circumstances surrounding the incident, during which the speed reading was inconclusive. Road Safety Support ascertained that the van was traveling at a speed of 72 mph, exceeding its maximum permitted speed of 60 mph.
Mr. Moore declared that he was not aware of the Laser Star jamming system's ability to block the speed measurement function of a police speedmeter. He maintained that he had bought the device specifically for its parking sensor function.
Mr. Moore assigned David Winstanley, a retired police collision investigator, who stated his proficiency in laser and video systems, to serve as his expert witness.
The viewpoint put forth by Mr. Winstanley was that the Laser Star should be positioned as a 'parking sensor' rather than being predominantly seen as a laser jamming device.
Mr. Callaghan responded by stating that the use of a laser beam to detect parking obstructions was completely inappropriate and largely ineffective. He pointed out that a parking sensor does not need to be set to disrupt a laser speedmeter. Furthermore, the Laser Star is advertised as being able to disrupt speed cameras in its instructions and marketing materials, a feature that is not associated with a parking sensor.
Additionally, Mr. Moore highlighted in his defense that the security company he was affiliated with insisted that employees bear the costs of any damage inflicted on work vehicles. He stated that he implemented the device to reduce the likelihood of damage.
On October 18, 2021, Moore was convicted by a jury and subsequently sentenced at Swansea Crown Court.
Moore's defense was deemed as invalid by Judge Vosper QC, who expressed no surprise at the jury's decision to reject it.
Moore's sentence entails 32 weeks of custody, which has been suspended for a duration of 2 years. Furthermore, he has been instructed to settle costs and fines totaling £3,000, and a curfew lasting two months has been imposed.
Can police tell if you have a laser jammer?
A lidar gun employed by the police to target a vehicle may display an error message of either "no response" or cosine error. In the presence of such an error, the police officers are left unaware of whether the vehicle is equipped with a laser jammer or if they have simply misdirected their aim. As a result, this grants the driver an opportunity to adjust their speed before the police can retrieve the data once more.
Since police need to be stationary and able to see a vehicle at close range without cover for lidar to work properly, if police receive a false response the first time they fire their lidar gun, the targeted driver will likely have time to adjust his speed when out of range. Lidar is most often used by motorcycle police or identifiable patrol cars, who use it most effectively on major roads, which limits when and where they can be used. In the case of heavy traffic, the police lidar gun is very effective at focusing on the vehicle and instantly calculating its speed, distance and direction.