Safe Speed Forums

Police chiefs have appointed a new boss to manage Norfolk's speed cameras — more than a year after first advertising the post.

John Fairey will become manager of Norfolk Safety Camera Partnership, which is responsible for all the speed cameras in the county, in December.

For the last five months he has been monitoring performance standards of staff dealing with 999 calls at the police contacts centre in Wymondham.

The 51-year-old former road policing chief inspector has been in the police force more than 30 years.

Highly qualified with three degrees, including an MBA in business, he said today: "I have a background in casualty reduction and road traffic policing, and I'm excited by it and I'm looking forward to the challenge ahead.

"I was acting manager of the partnership for eight months after the previous manager Barry Parnell resigned last year until April this year, so I know about the job."

Bryan Edwards, of the Safety Camera Partnership, said Mr Fairey was ideally suited to the role.

"He has all the qualities we were looking for. He has business qualifications and worked on the staff of former chief constable Ken Williams who was chairman of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) so he knows how to deal with the media," he said.

Inspector Bob Scully will remain as chairman of the partnership.

As reported in the Evening News, police chiefs were forced to lower the qualifications they were looking for in a new boss.

The manager's post was first advertised more than a year ago and bosses had to drop the requirement that only those with previous safety camera experience need apply.

Police chiefs were also forced to reconsider previous applicants who were deemed not good enough first time around.

The partnership's chairman Mark Veljovic also left to rejoin his former boss ex-Norfolk Chief Constable Andy Hayman at the Metropolitan police.

The post carries a tempting salary of £33,000 to £35,000 but applicants had to fit a tough set of criteria and be in the firing line from the public.

There was speculation when Mr Parnell resigned in July last year that he left because of a probe into the locations of speed cameras in Norfolk.

This was always denied and the audit vindicated the siting of cameras around the county's roads, despite claims they were not all needed.

Before the audit's findings were released, the Conservative Party seized upon Mr Parnell's resignation at the launch of a campaign to get rid of 'cash guzzling' cameras.

Earlier this year the Evening News reported that road safety chiefs in Norfolk were forced to shelve plans for 16 new speed cameras in the county.

The news came after a Government review of the effectiveness of the cameras was put on hold. Until the outcome of the report is known no new camera sites will be approved.

Last week the Evening News reported that motorists in Norfolk were part of a speed camera lottery where only a third were operational at any one time.

The figures emerged following a national survey by a motoring magazine, which revealed that on average three quarters of cameras across the country did not contain film.

A spokeswoman for the partnership said it had six cameras for 18 housings, which were rotated every few days, and that there were no actual dummies. "When the cameras are not in the housings there's no flashing going off. If the cameras flash an offence has occurred," she said.

"He has all the qualities we were looking for. He has business qualifications

The 51-year-old former road policing chief inspector has been in the police force more than 30 years.