Police chief admits: 'There's too many speed cameras... and some officers are rude'

Ian Johnston, President of the Police Superintendents' Association, said officers must focus less on targets, set aside 'pride and ego' and work hard to win back public support.

One of the biggest sources of friction between the public and the police are speed cameras, which are seen as unfair and ineffective in road safety, he added.

'We should review the use of speed cameras,' he said in extracts of a speech released ahead of the association's annual conference next week.

'I am not looking for their abolition, but I am saying that we must reassess them if we are serious about addressing public confidence.'

Accumulating: The rise in speed cameras is costing motorists more than £150 million a year in fines and increased insurance premiums

Must do better: President of the Police Superintendents' Association Ian Johnston

The number of cameras has soared to an estimated 7,000, prompting bitter criticism from campaigners who claim motorists are easy targets for fines, and that the Government's claims over safety improvements are wildly overblown.

He called on colleagues to be more pleasant with the public to help to get them back on the police's side in the fight against crime.

'Over half the complaints against the police are about rudeness and incivility and about lack of service. We need to pay attention to that,' he said.

'I think that pride and ego comes into play with lots of officers.'

Winning the public's confidence is crucial because polls suggest that people think crime is rising, when it has fallen in recent years, he added.

In 1982, 92 per cent of people thought their local police were doing a good job, compared to 53 per cent in 2007-08, according to British Crime Survey figures.

'While officers continue to work hard and some pay the ultimate price, the brutal truth is that there are too many occasions when we disappoint the public,' he said.

'There are too many occasions when police stations are not open, when we don't answer the phone and when having recorded an offence we don't go back to keep people up-to-date on what we are doing.'

Johnston will deliver his keynote speech to 250 delegates in Chester next week.

Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said Johnston had spoken bravely, even though the comments would 'not be very palatable' for some officers.

'Many of the problems he identifies are a consequence of the government's red tape and target culture that has succeeded in undermining police discretion,' he said.

The Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales represents 1,550 officers working as superintendents or chief superintendents, the fourth and fifth most senior ranks.