I usually stand up for our local Police but I have just seen something that has made me wonder about the people in charge of the local bobby's (well PCSO in this case). Maybe we are just lucky in Ossy and our PC's and PCSO's are better than most.
Ok story time, get a brew and make yourselves comfortable.
I have been complaining to the Police on and of for ages about ignorant drivers who park on the zigzags outside Fairfield Children's Centre, where my daughter attends. Yesterday I actaully asked when they were going to do something about it. I was told they can't be outside every school every day. I asked how many schools have kids being dropped off/picked up at half past one in the afternoon? I also asked when they were last outside Fairfield. neither question was answered.
I picked her up today and stood right outside the school was a PCSO in full dayglo uniform. Being the inquisitive type I asked him what be was doing. You never know he might have been lost. He informed me he was stopping people from parking on the zigzags. I asked him why and was told it was an offence to do so. I asked him what the point was of standing there where everyone could see him, should he not be just around the corner then stick a ticket on someone when they do stop? He informed me that giving out tickets can cause bad feeling. I said good they should not be parking there at all. I carried on to tell him I thought he was wasting his time and that cars will again be parked there tomorrow as they were yesterday. He also told me he was stood there because he had been told to and that is what he is paid for. At this point the tone in his voice started to be a little errm unprofessional shall we say. I left him wasting his time by the roads edge and picked up my girl.
I set off in the car and drove around the block. As I drove along the street about 50 yards from school, two young lads, about 3 or 4 years old were playing football in the road. They saw me and kicked the ball onto the footpath. I slowed down to about 10mph as I passed them. Just before I reached them the ball rolled into the road followed by a little boy. Thankfully, due to good tyres and ABS I managed to stop inches from hitting him. That PCSO might have stopped the boys from playing in the road if he had been walking the beat instead of wasting his time stood outside school
If I had been the idiot driving the Subaru yesterday at about 40mph past school with his dump valve whistling at every gear change (he was in 4th so was probably doing at least 40mph) that boy could well be dead now.
I will no doubt be having an interesting conversion with the local Inspector in a couple of weeks when I see him about the waste Police resources and how no one parked outside school for a whole half hour while his PCSO was stood there.