A man who worked as a police officer in Eastern Iceland during the summer months of 2013 and 2014 has been charged with forgery and theft, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports. The officer falsified the numbers on speeding reports, wrote fraudulent tickets and pocketed the fines.
A crime spree in the summers of 2013 and 2014
Most of the crimes took place in June, July and August 2013 when the man worked for the Police in Eastern Iceland as a temporary officer during the summer months. The man came to work for the Police in Eastern Iceland the next year and continued his activities. He is believed to have issued 21 fraudulent speeding tickets to drivers amount to roughly 1,000,000 ISK (7,800 USD/7,000 EUR). All the tickets were issued to foreign travellers.
According to the charges filed against the man, he did not pocket the fines, the tickets were also fraudulent. The officer falsified both the speed at which he claimed to have stopped people by tampering with his radar measurements, even stopping and ticketing drivers who were driving well within the speeding limit. He also inflated the fines he issued to the motorists.
Issued fraudulent speeding tickets
In one case in June 2013 the man stopped a driver going 75kmh/46mph on the ring road, where the speed limit is 90kmh/55mph claiming she has been going 105kmh/65mph, which was the speed at which he himself had driven as he chased the woman. He fined the woman 25,000 ISK.
The officer either had the people pay cash on the spot or followed them to an ATM where he had them withdraw money. According to the internal rules of Icelandic Police officers accept credit card when collecting fines on the spot. Only when travellers do not have a valid credit card are officers allowed to accept payment in cash.
In most cases he issued tickets which were higher than the fine for the supposed infraction. The highest fine the officer issued was to a driver he had stopped for speeding, driving 140kmh/86mph where the speed limit is 90kmh/55mph. In this case the officer issued a 108,000 ISK (840 USD/750 EUR) ticket, when the correct fine would have been 68,000 ISK (530 USD/470 EUR)
A man who worked as a police officer in Eastern Iceland during the summer months of 2013 and 2014 has been charged with forgery and theft, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports. The officer falsified the numbers on speeding reports, wrote fraudulent tickets and pocketed the fines.
A crime spree in the summers of 2013 and 2014
Most of the crimes took place in June, July and August 2013 when the man worked for the Police in Eastern Iceland as a temporary officer during the summer months. The man came to work for the Police in Eastern Iceland the next year and continued his activities. He is believed to have issued 21 fraudulent speeding tickets to drivers amount to roughly 1,000,000 ISK (7,800 USD/7,000 EUR). All the tickets were issued to foreign travellers.
According to the charges filed against the man, he did not pocket the fines, the tickets were also fraudulent. The officer falsified both the speed at which he claimed to have stopped people by tampering with his radar measurements, even stopping and ticketing drivers who were driving well within the speeding limit. He also inflated the fines he issued to the motorists.
Issued fraudulent speeding tickets
In one case in June 2013 the man stopped a driver going 75kmh/46mph on the ring road, where the speed limit is 90kmh/55mph claiming she has been going 105kmh/65mph, which was the speed at which he himself had driven as he chased the woman. He fined the woman 25,000 ISK.
The officer either had the people pay cash on the spot or followed them to an ATM where he had them withdraw money. According to the internal rules of Icelandic Police officers accept credit card when collecting fines on the spot. Only when travellers do not have a valid credit card are officers allowed to accept payment in cash.
In most cases he issued tickets which were higher than the fine for the supposed infraction. The highest fine the officer issued was to a driver he had stopped for speeding, driving 140kmh/86mph where the speed limit is 90kmh/55mph. In this case the officer issued a 108,000 ISK (840 USD/750 EUR) ticket, when the correct fine would have been 68,000 ISK (530 USD/470 EUR)
