A businessman has been jailed for two months for fitting a laser jammer to his Jaguar to block speed detection devices.
Nigel Patrick Stephenson, 65, from Steeton, West Yorkshire, was also banned from driving for six months and ordered to pay costs of £1,000.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Stephenson had previously pleaded guilty to two charges of perverting the course of justice.
On 4 August, 2014, an officer operating North Yorkshire Police’s mobile safety camera on the A59 in Skipton picked up an error code and detected audible feedback from the safety camera when it was directed towards Stephenson’s white Jaguar.
Four days later, on 8 August, 2014, the same thing happened as Stephenson drove his Jaguar along the A629 near Keighley.
Both incidents were captured on video by the mobile safety camera and led officers to believe that the Jaguar had been fitted with a device to block speed detection.
Stephenson was arrested in October 2014 and when officers examined his Jaguar, they discovered the laser jammer fitted to the front of the vehicle. He was subsequently charged with two offences of perverting the course of justice.
The sentencing judge, His Honour Judge Rose, also ordered the destruction of the device along with the destruction of a Snooper device fitted to the dashboard, which alerted the driver to the presence of speed cameras.
Stephenson was issued with a caution for using a similar device in 2010.
Road Safety Support's expertise helped to secure the conviction.
Technical support manager, Steve Callaghan, provided an expert witness report which proved that the jammer had prevented detection by a speed camera on two occasions in August 2014.
He said: “We were pleased to be able to provide the high level technical analysis necessary to prove this case, and we are very satisfied with the sentence.
“North Yorkshire Police worked extremely hard and it was a pleasure to assist them in bringing this driver to justice.”
PC Andy Forth of North Yorkshire Police’s mobile safety camera team, said: “The sentence handed out to Mr Stephenson reflects how seriously the criminal justice system takes attempts to pervert the course of justice.
“Having previously been issued with a caution for a similar offence, Mr Stephenson chose to ignore that warning and believed he could cheat the laws that are made to protect road users.
“The result sends a clear message that North Yorkshire Police are determined to keep the roads as safe as possible and will use technology to its full capacity to bring anyone found flouting the law to justice.”
