Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/12/1247.asp

7/21/2006

UK: Top Speed Camera Cop Starts Blogging
Top UK traffic cop starts a blog to document his ideas on trapping motorists.

Richard Brunstrom this week began blogging about his experiences as the top cop in the North Wales, UK Police Department. Brunstrom, the UK's former top traffic police chief, was dubbed the "Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taliban" by the British press for his promotion of automated ticket cameras. On his days off, Brunstrom says he likes to pull over motorists and ticket them.

"I have decided to become the UK’s first blogging Chief Constable," Brunstrom wrote in his opening salvo explaining his activities on Saturday. "My wife’s away, so I can sneak off to have some fun."

Brunstrom's idea was to perform "real" police work. He sat behind an automated number plate recognition (ANPR) scanner that searched 5891 license plates belonging to passing motorists. He pulled over and interrogated 87 drivers who had done nothing wrong, but his dragnet ensnared another 22 for, "possession of relatively small amounts of cannabis." In Wales, the punishment for possession is a formal street caution and confiscation of the drugs. As Brunstrom explained, his drug sniffing dog, "had a great time rooting through people's cars."

On Wednesday, Brunstrom described one of the top priorities of real police work. "Had a meeting with the Commission for Racial Equality," he wrote. "We decided to expand our fantastically successful police schools program (now live in nearly every school in Wales) to include joint working with the CRE on racism in schools."

Brunstrom recently had Tony Blair investigated for "hate crimes" after a memoir writer claimed the prime minister exclaimed "the [expletive] Welsh!" at his television while watching election returns from Wales in 1999.