Anti-speeding PCC breaks limit five times
Conservative police chief ‘very sorry’ for multiple offences while she was campaigning for office
‘Ensuring effective and efficient police response to speeding is one of my priorities’
‘To make Notts safe, I promise to reduce crime with action, not words... I am determined to get tough on crime’
A TORY police chief who pledged to crack down on speeding has been caught driving too fast five times in three months.
Caroline Henry, the police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Nottinghamshire, was caught breaking a 30mph limit in a blue Mercedes and a silver Lexus with a personalised number plate between March and June last year.
The five offences took place while she was still campaigning to be the new crime commissioner and after she was elected to the role in May last year. Ms Henry, 52, previously admitted to the offences, including two on consecutive days, at a hearing in February at Nottingham magistrates’ court. Magistrates were told Ms Henry, who is the wife of Broxtowe MP Darren Henry, had written a letter to the court saying she was “very sorry, embarrassed and ashamed”.
Noel Philo, her defence solicitor, said the letter was written on “advice I did not give”.
On her official PCC website, Ms Henry listed ensuring an “effective and efficient” police response to speeding as one of her priorities.
She campaigned for the election using the slogan “Make Notts Safe” and promised to “reduce crime with action, not words”.
Ms Henry was caught speeding in 30mph zones at four locations in Nottingham in March, May and June last year.
Court documents relating to the charges show Ms Henry was caught speeding twice near a primary school in Daybrook, Nottingham.
The offences took place on March 17 and 18, May 2 and 27, and June 8 in 2021.
The court was told an automatic camera recorded her travelling at 35mph in a 30mph zone in Chilwell, near Olympia Sports Centre, on March 17 at 2.56pm.
She also exceeded a 30mph speed limit a day after on March 18 at 10.33am, on the A610 Nuthall Road in Bashford between Stockhill Lane and Bar Lane. The speed was recorded at 40mph.
She then broke a 30mph speed limit again on May 2 at 11.05am by driving on the A6464 Woodside Road in Beeston at a recorded speed of 38mph.
After that, she went over the 30mph speed limit on Oxclose Lane in Daybrook on May 27 at 8.33pm. The speed was recorded at 38mph. The final offence was on June 8, at 9.13pm, on Oxclose Lane in Daybrook, where she drove at 35mph on a 30mph road.
The court case was adjourned until July 19, when Ms Henry is expected to argue that two of the five offences were because of “emergencies”, with one being when she was “very concerned for one of her children”.
She did not respond to questions over whether she would resign from her position.
In a written statement issued after the hearing, Ms Henry said: “For technical legal reasons, the court has constituted that they cannot deal with the case today.
“I cannot comment on the ongoing case. I will be explaining the context of this matter in due course.”
On her website, Ms Henry says that she is “determined to get tough on crime”.