Speeding is ‘middle class anti-social behaviour’
By politics.co.uk staff
Speeding is the worst kind of middle-class anti-social behaviour, a leading police officer has said.
Julie Spence, outgoing head of Cambridgeshire police, said it was hypocritical for drivers to complain about crime and then speed while driving.
“Speeding is middle-class anti-social behaviour,” she told The Telegraph.
“People think we should be able to get away with it. They wouldn’t tolerate lawbreaking by somebody else but they do it themselves without thinking.
“It all seems OK until something tragic happens, like their child dies because of a road traffic accident.”
She added: “Driving without care or consideration for other road users is probably among the worst kind of anti-social behaviour in its truest sense, because serious offenders can, and do, kill.”
Ms Spence also made a broader point about the public’s attitude towards responsibility and how that impacted on policing.
“Easy credit, drink as much as you can, have it when you want, buy this, buy that and buy the other,” she said.
“This irresponsibility costs – you play while others pay – and I think we have got to the point where we need to have a little more responsibility.
“With the public purse in such dire straits we need a responsible public who don’t cost public services unnecessarily.”
Some budgets, including policing, will have their budgets cut by up to 25% in the autumn spending review.
