The police officers association AUGC have complained today that their members are being pressurised into dishing out more traffic fines in the Canary Islands. Last year saw a sharp drop in fines and the association reckons this is due to a significant reduction in traffic on the roads and more cautious drivers - all due due to the economic crisis and high unemployment rates of up to 33% in the Canaries. They say that after a recent visit of the general commander of the Guardia Civil traffic section to these islands, members of the force received letters stating that they have to 'increase productivity' (i.e. more fines) or face a deduction of 240 Euros of complementary payments from their salaries. The police association complains that through this 'disgraceful practice' their officers will become 'mere tax collectors instead of guarantors of road safety in the archipelago' ...and on the Spanish Peninsula the same applies, I presume. Considering that the traffic police already have a reputation for nit-picking and handing out fines at will, this latest 'initiative from above' will surely cause a fair amount of head shaking in these parts.
You have been warned !
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