DITCH speed cameras and get more bobbies back on the beat.
That was the blunt message handed to North Wales Police yesterday.
Scores of angry motorists turned up to a barn to voice their protests.
They were angered by Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom's blast at a 71-year-old first-time speeder: "Speeding is anti- social behaviour just as much as yobbery."
Three businessmen from North Wales organised the meeting at Llandudno to gauge the feeling and to decide whether there is any action they can take to stop the "persecution" of motorists.
Adding to the anger of drivers yesterday was the latest reported suggestion by Mr Brunstrom there should be a change in the law to enable police to take fingerprints of drivers who are stopped.
One of the businessmen who organised the meeting, engineer Noel Williams of Sychdyn, near Mold, said: "For many years I worked in Libya and other countries in the Middle East and when we hear things like taking fingerprints of motorists it makes me fear we are near to becoming a police state."
He said they were "not pro-speeding" and agreed that there should be cameras at danger spots such as schools and high accident areas. But now, he claimed, public perception was that there was a zero-tolerance policy towards the motorist, but not against burglars, thieves and vandals.
Mr Williams said: "It seems there is very little effort made to make our streets safe at night. How many would run the gauntlet of walking down the high street of many of our North Wales towns late in the evening?"
Among those at the meeting was Jeff Evans, deputy mayor of Holyhead and chairman of the town's Crime and Disorder Group. Last week, he urged Mr Brunstrom to quit and said he wanted part of his council tax repaid "because the police aren't providing the service they're paid to provide".
As Arrive Alive boss Insp Alan Hughes described how he had during his service "lit-erally had to mop up after serious accidents" a heckler shouted: "Don't try emotional blackmail."
Inspector Hughes said no one enjoyed being caught speeding, but pointed out that the scheme had cut the number of those killed and injured.
He added: "To work together for a safer and better North Wales is our aim. Cameras are there to reduce accidents and the number of people being killed and seriously injured."
Motorist Ian Glass of Llandyrnog near Denbigh described North Wales as "the most uncomfortable area to travel in".
He said: "The emphasis is on speeding and not safe driving, presumably to get more revenue. What Richard Brunstrom is doing is empire building."
Insp Hughes said: "Setting speed limits is not up to Arrive Alive - it's up to the communities through traffic orders and public consultation.
"The reason we've got police officers in the van is that they can go to villages where they don't see a police-man very often."
One of the organisers, Mark Francis who runs a cranes business in Rhuddlan, said: "You have hit the nail on the head. Every time I go to the Spar shop I have to go around a crowd of young people. I see older people who have worked and served the community all their lives and they are forced to to turn away." Mr Francis added: "There are enough people here today who are saying your police force is not doing enough."
"This is not just about speed cameras; this is about policing in North Wales."
Retired policeman Bob Francis, also of Rhuddlan, said: "Our concerns are about the amount of time and effort and money the police is putting into traffic management and not addressing crime."
Mr Brunstrom wants a change in the law to give police the power to check drivers' fingerprints against records on the police national computer.
Mr Brunstrom hopes the roadside fingerprinting electronic device can deliver a result within seconds. Officers will decide immediately whether or not to let the driver go or to question him or her further.
* Last night organisers said Richard Brunstrom will be invited to a meeting in the new year, to justify his speed camera policy.
