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Bobbies told to ditch the car and 'get on your bike'
Last updated at 14:07pm on 16th May 2007
A Police Force has come under fire for telling its cops to 'get on your bike' to save money.
North Wales Police, headed by controversial cop Richard Brunstrom, is ditching five cars and issuing its bobbies with electric-assisted pedal bikes - which have a top speed of just 20mph.
The move has been blamed on budget cuts and the chief constable, famous for his speeding crackdown, has been accused of not policing roads properly at a time when he is issuing thousands of motorists on his patch with speeding tickets.
Paul Smith. founder of speed camera campaign Safe Speed, said the move would leave people at risk because they cannot chase criminals.
He said: "These electric bikes simply cannot do the job of a properly equipped patrol car.
"You can just see the cartoon situation of a cop on a bike chasing the criminals as they speed away.
"We all want more bobbies on the beat but they are the ones that detect the majority of motoring offences.
"If they see a kid speeding past on a quad bike or a drunk driver weaving on the road they need to stay in contact with the vehicle before help arrives or they will get away.
"This is another adjustment by Richard Brunstrom that is going to make roads policing worse in his area.
"To bill them as a 'greener', more efficient way is just putting a positive spin on what is really a cost-cutting exercise."
But senior policemen believe the new bikes will be an improvement on the squad cars they replace because they are 'green' and 'silent at night'.
A member of the force's own police authority, who had questioned the force's spending on transport, slammed the move as a bit 'a bit gimmicky'.
Darren Millar, a Welsh Assembly member for Clwyd West, said: "I am keen to see more bobbies on the beat. Unfortunately in the past few years, far too much time has been spent by beat bobbies behind desks. But to me, it sounds a little bit gimmicky.
"Everybody has to do something to address global warming and reduce carbon emissions, but I don't know whether that is the real motive for this move."
The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, claimed their members had not been consulted on the move.
Chairman of North Wales Police Federation Sgt Tom Rodger said: "We have not been consulted and until I know what these are and what their capabilities are I would not like to respond."
Last month Ch Const Brunstrom was attacked by the family of dead motorcyclist Mark Gibney after he showed graphic crash scene pictures of his decapitated head at a road safety conference.
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