Aug 12 2007
link by Matt Withers, Wales On Sunday
MORE than half of all known cases of cops prosecuted for speeding last year were from North Wales Police – despite chief Richard Brunstrom’s crusade against the crime.
Of the 31 police officers given tickets for either exceeding the speed limit or running a red light, 16 were with the controversial copper’s force.
It comes despite Brunstrom – famously dubbed the ‘Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taliban’ – being behind a long-running campaign to stamp out speeding.
One anti-speed camera campaigner said it showed the flaws of the system.
But a spokeswoman for North Wales Police said: “Everyone is treated the same regardless of their employer “North Wales Police also enforces the lowest speeding threshold among Welsh forces, which may be the reason.
“Our threshold is 10 per cent plus two (miles per hour) whereas other forces are higher.”
Paul Smith of anti-speed camera group SafeSpeed said: “It is tragic we have got a road safety policy which can’t distinguish between safe and dangerous driving.
“There’s no reason to believe these officers were driving dangerously but yet we’ve expended public money prosecuting them at no benefit.
“And the public is suffering in exactly the same way.”
Mr Brunstrom was a “pariah” among motorists, he added, “and that’s putting it kindly”.
In the week that a Dyfed Powys Police officer, Detective Constable Ashley Brice, was banned from driving after an accident that led to the death of another motorist, it emerged only a third of police officers caught speeding were being prosecuted.
Det Con Brice, 33, was at the wheel of an unmarked police Ford Mondeo which collided head on with a car being driven by Gareth James, 43, in Powys.
But the figures from Wales’ four police forces show that of least 95 officers triggering roadside cameras in 2006, only 31 resulted in a ticket.
The statistics, released under the Freedom of Information Act, are difficult to compare because only two forces provided full figures – of 20 cops from South Wales Police caught by camera four were prosecuted and three cases are still ongoing, while 11 from 45 were prosecuted in Gwent.
Sheila Rainger, head of campaigns for the RAC Foundation, said there should be a full investigation each time an officer is caught apparently breaking traffic laws.
She said: “If the people are on their way somewhere they are needed we would expect them to make an effort to get there on time, even if that means safely going through a red light. But there’s a grey area where they are on duty but perhaps they are not going on a call.
“There should be an investigation into every one of these incidents and if it becomes necessary to prosecute them it should be done, because police are there to set an example.”
In North Wales there are only prosecution figures for speeding, no figures are held for officers who are caught speeding but are not prosecuted.
Inspector Essi Ahari, who heads up North Wales’ anti-speeding Arrive Alive campaign said tickets were sent to the Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom as the registered keeper of the vehicle and the driver would then be tracked down.
He said: “You can quickly say if the officer was attending a 999 call. If the officer can’t prove he was on a 999 call points or a fine will follow. There’s no way you can justify speeding.
“If it isn’t an emergency, basically you haven’t got a leg to stand on.”
Thirty cops were caught speeding or running a red light in Dyfed-Powys in 2006, but the force said it did not hold figures for how many were prosecuted.
A spokeswoman said: “Each case is considered. If they’re on a 999 call then it’s looked at to see if it was the right thing to do.
“Otherwise, if they’ve done 45mph in a 30 zone, for example, they are prosecuted just like anyone else. Depending on each case a decision is made as to whether it should also be considered as misconduct.”
matt.withers@wme.co.uk [/url]
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
Members
