Debate over police officer's 'ridiculous' tactic to catch speeding drivers
A photograph of a Queensland police officer appearing to hide in the bushes while operating a speed radar camera has stirred online debate.
A Brisbane motorist shared a series of photos to a local Facebook group on Friday, which she said were taken by a passenger as she drove through the suburb of Petrie, north of the city, earlier that day.
The images show a police officer crouched down in shrubbery of a median strip, beside a light pole, holding a radar gun which is pointed at passing traffic.
In her post, the woman said she could see police in uniform holding a camera.
She added she thought speed radars needed to be attached to a police vehicle or motorbike, and did not think officers were allowed to “crouch in hedges in the middle of the road”.
A second woman said she had spotted officers hiding in the same spot a few weeks ago as another social media user labelled the tactic as “ridiculous”.
A fourth Facebook user said she thought police were allowed to hide and applauded the officer for “doing their job”.
Another agreed, saying: “They are allowed to do it they are doing their job.”
But one man shared a similar experience when he was fined for jaywalking by an officer who he claims had been “hiding behind a post”.
Police officers can operate mobile speed cameras from marked and unmarked vehicles either in uniform or in plain clothes at approved sites, according to the Queensland Government website.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Mike Keating told Yahoo News Australia the Queensland Police Service (QPS) was aware of photos depicting an officer conducting speed enforcement circulating on social media.
“The officer in the photo has been identified and was requested to cease operating from that position immediately,” he said.
“The deployment will be reviewed against the guidelines for the operation of this particular type of device.”
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