A SCHEME to set targets for traffic police has been attacked by senior officers, who say that it will simply start a race for points and make some motorists suffer.
From next month officers in part of North Wales will get twenty-five points for catching drunken drivers, ten points for an offender driving dangerously and five for speeding or seatbelt offences.
Under the scheme Richard Brunstrom, the North Wales Chief Constable, expects his officers to reach 200 points a month. Police leaders have expressed anger and concern at the scheme, saying that officers will chase points and abandon any discretion when dealing with motorists.
A leaked memo from the force said that consistent failure to hit targets could adversely effect an officer’s career.
Yesterday the force said that the scheme was aimed at getting officers to concentrate on priority areas of road policing such as reducing road casualties, dangerous driving and failure to wear seatbelts.