The Queensland Police Union has called for an immediate end to the use of unmarked and covert speed cameras, saying they do nothing more than raise government revenue.



QPU president Ian Leavers said the “sneaky” devices did not reduce the state’s road toll or stop people from speeding.



“Getting a ticket in the mail up to a month after speeding when you can barely remember even where you were back then, has no effect and is quite rightly cynically viewed as revenue raising,” he said on Sunday.



“Only a highly visible policing presence and highly marked police speed camera vans with large police decals all over them staffed by police are the way to address the road toll.”



Leavers said the use of covert cameras had damaged the reputation of police officers across Queensland.



“Police receive significant criticism from the public and are accused of being ‘revenue raisers’ when unmarked and covert speed cameras or speed camera trailers are deployed,” he said.



“We need an immediate end to the use of these sneaky devices and increase more visible policing so that we can regain public confidence.”



Deputy LNP leader Tim Mander said the Labor government’s revenue from speeding fines had risen since it removed camera signage two years ago.



“The (Premier Annastacia) Palaszczuk government is using Queenslanders as cash cows,” he said. “They have budgeted an extra 46% in speeding fines for the next three years.”

Mander said if speed cameras were visible and motorists knew they were there, they would slow down.



“There’s no use acting after the event, it’s far better to prevent people from speeding in the first place,” he said.

But the use of unmarked speed cameras has been advocated for by the state’s audit office.

In 2015 it issued a scathing report accusing Queensland police of not using its full quota of hidden camera hours because it “wants to avoid perceptions of revenue raising”.

“An apparent desire to avoid perceptions of revenue raising has unduly influenced decisions that have limited covert camera deployments (unmarked or not visible police vehicles) to well below their government approved levels,” the state’s auditor wrote at the time.

“The results from road safety research demonstrate that one of the best methods to deter motorists from speeding is by deploying mobile cameras in an unpredictable way across approved mobile camera sites.

“This general deterrence effect is complemented by the specific deterrents from the fixed speed and red light camera network that target high-risk locations or locations unsuited to mobile cameras.”

The push to remove unmarked speed cameras comes amid increasing concern about the country’s road toll. In NSW, Premier Gladys Berejiklian is expected to announce the expansion of roadside drug testing to include cocaine on Monday.

But while the national road toll for December was 25% above the average for the past five years, overall the road toll fell in 2017.

During the 12 months ending in December 2017 there were 1,225 road deaths, a 5.3% drop from the previous year.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this report