WHY did the chicken cross the road? To help the primary school kids get to the other side as, according to Essex Police, PCSO’s are not “qualified” to do so.
The news comes to light after PCSO’s were ordered to stop guiding pupils across a road just across the Thurrock border in Pilgrims Hatch.
Cash-strapped schools may now find that they will have to pay almost £2,000 for their pupils to gain police assistance from the police.
Don’t expect any help from Thurrock’s Traffic Wardens (Civil Enforcement Officers) either. As illustrated in the case in 2007, when a man collapsed and died outside a Doctors Surgery in Grays. They were asked to control the traffic in an emergency but refused to do so citing that they were neither qualified nor insured to direct traffic either.
The news confused YourThurrock somewhat as they have seen PCSO’s directing traffic at funerals as well as helping pupils to cross the road on numerous occasions.
But one Thurrock PCSO, who did not wish to be named said: “What we do and what we should do are two separate things. If you have a hundred students from Quarry Hill walking to Little Thurrock, we will help them out”.
Pupils from Bentley St Paul Primary School visit their local church across the road on a number of occasions.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the Headmaster Dr Duncan Ramsey said: ‘I am very disappointed. There is no option but to cross that main road to get to the church and we need to keep our children safe”.
Inspector Jasmine Frost said the force’s PCSOs ‘are not trained for crossing the road’.
She added: ‘We sought advice from our headquarters and they said that under no circumstances should we use PCSOs because if something happened we would be liable.
Bedfordshire, Greater Manchester, Lincolnshire, Northumbria, Thames Valley, West Midlands and the Met said their officers were qualified to handle traffic.
West Yorkshire said its officers were able to ‘regulate the flow of traffic’ at major events but could not stop traffic to allow pedestrians to cross a road.
“Inspector Jasmine Frost said the force’s PCSOs ‘are not trained for crossing the road’. ”
I had to check the date on my calender, surely this is not April 1st, what a complete farcical statement from Inspector Jasmine Frost, so what exactly are PCSO’s trained to do, are they not a branch of the local Police Force and are there to assist the public, or are they as most of the public see them, plastic policemen, and a waste of resources??
It is embarrassing, when I saw the old lady across the road I didn’t need training, I did it on instinct.
The Inspector has certainly opened up a can of worms, I agree what are CPSO’s trained for, I wonder if they have cycle profiency badges, must check when I next see one.
I agree, in the current state, I don’t think they are a benefit to the community, when called they are always too far away to react, or come an hour after the event or not at all, much like the regular police I am afraid, who priorotise the calls.
I would like to know what good PCSOs and Civil Enforcement Officers are if they cannot perform basic duties such as helping children across the road or directing traffic.
When I was visiting my parents I saw a car burst into flames on the road and rushed out to direct traffic around the car and to stop cars when the distance between the main body of the traffic was getting within the blast radius should the car in question exploded. Does this mean I’m more qualified than a PCSO or Civil Enforcement Officer? Perhaps I should have asked for payment at the time!
This situation is the ‘nanny state’ gone completely mad.