A CONTROVERSIAL chief constable has been accused of wasting money by sending speed camera experts to Australia, where police have had to halt the use of cameras and pay back fines.
Richard Brunstrom, the head of North Wales Police, is a controversial supporter of the cameras. He sent one of his officers with Ian Bell, a former officer who is now national safety camera co-ordinator for the Association of Chief Police Officers, to view operations in the state of Victoria, which pioneers the use of the cameras but has faced recent embarrassment over their accuracy.
The state government has refunded up to £5.47 million to drivers fined for speeding after tests revealed speed cameras recorded faulty readings. A woman driver challenged a fine for travelling at 98mph in a 30-year-old Datsun. Tests showed that her car was incapable of that speed.
Tony Vickers, spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, said: “It is ludicrous. Mr Brunstrom is becoming an embarrassment with his extreme views on trivial, technical offences.”
Mr Bell insisted that the trip had been worthwhile. “Victoria has had problems but they are world leaders in the use of cameras and we learnt a lot of lessons,” he said yesterday.