Richard Brunstrom, Chief Constable of North Wales, is under pressure to explain why his own force, labelled the 'Traffic Taliban' for its fervent pursuit of speeders, finished top of a league table for accident-prone police services.
Statistics obtained by a national newspaper show that his force has paid hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation for crashes – more than any other comparable police service for which data was available.
Critics also questioned why no police driver has faced internal disciplinary proceedings in the past 10 years, despite the fact that the force has paid out nearly £500,000 in compensation since 2000 – an average of more than £70,000 a year.
Similarly sized rural forces such as Norfolk and West Mercia constabularies paid out £21,800 and £30,000 respectively last year. Grampian Police paid out just £425 in the past three years. Even South Wales Police, which is about twice the size of its northern neighbour, has paid an average of £28,000 in compensation claims over the past eight years, despite policing a more urban region.
In the past seven years, six North Wales Police officers have been prosecuted for driving offences committed while on duty, according to the force. Last year, 16 officers from the force were prosecuted for speeding, though it is unclear how many were on duty at the time.
Mr Brunstrom’s zero-tolerance approach to the crime has led to North Wales drivers being the most fined in the country. The force charged fixed-penalty notices for speeding that equated to £6 for every resident last year.
A spokesman for North Wales Police said they take the training of police drivers 'extremely seriously'.
Northamptonshire: £25,000
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