Shock tactics taken too far

6:03am Saturday 28th April 2007

CONTROVERSY seems to follow North Wales Police Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom.

As Assistant Chief Constable in Cleveland, he was heavily embroiled in the bitter and costly inquiry known as Operation Lancet.

And he has gone on to stir up strong feelings and a succession of tabloid headlines with his uncompromising support of speed cameras and calls for the legalisation of drugs.

The Association of British Drivers went as far as to describe him as the most unpopular policeman in Britain.

But we have defended Mr Brunstrom's position on speed cameras. Too often, speeding is dismissed as a minor offence. In fact, it is a serious offence which costs lives and motorists are slowed down by the prospect of being caught on camera. That has to be a good thing.

Mr Brunstrom has, however, clearly gone too far with his decision to use photographs of a decapitated motorcyclist to underline his road safety message.

The pictures of 40-year-old Mark Gibney, who died in 2003, were used during a briefing to journalists. One showed his head, still in its helmet, on a grass verge. The other showed the headless torso.

Shock tactics have their place in the fight to reduce casualties on our roads. But it is a matter of serious concern that someone in charge of a police force should not have the common sense and decency to seek the victim's family's consent to use such images.

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