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Aldershot News, Friday 17 th June 2005
By Chris Bentley
Police are using schoolchildren to highlight the danger of speeding to motorists. Drivers came face to face with potential casualties when junior school pupils were used to reinforce the message that speed kills.
Year 6 pupils at College Town Junior School became the latest weapon in the fight against speeding related deaths when they joined police officers and Bracknell Forest Borough Council's road safety team to carry out speed enforcement.
At the rush hour time of 9am the pupils accompanied officers to meet those drivers pulled over in Yeovil Road, Owlsmoor, to talk about how children can end up a casualty of speeding.
Owlsmoor beat officer PC Carole Sessions, who helped organise the event, said the unusual approach had ‘a real effect' on drivers told by the children of the dangers of excess speed.
She added: “At the same time it is a good lesson for the children which we hope they will remember when they start driving.”
Road safety campaigners have praised the idea of using children to drive the message home.
But Road safety charity Brake said it was also up to the government to act to reduce the temptation to speed. Spokeswoman Aimee Bowen said the direct approach was ‘extremely important' in getting across the message that speed kills.
She added: “We are in favour of children shouting about how much danger they are in when drivers drive past schools at speed but of course the children shouldn't have to do that. We should have measures in place that make it impossible for drivers to speed around schools, with speed cameras and 20mph zones. We have got to get the message out that children are safe walking to school – which is why they drive them there, which exacerbates the problem. We need to see more effort on the government's part to educate drivers and put in place engineering methods that make it difficult for them to speed and drive in a way that puts children's lives in danger.”
The speed check coincided with Police Week, where pupils at the school learned more about the police at a local level.
Organised by the Year 6 teachers with the help of PC Sessions, the pupils took part in a computer-based crime solving programme, had their fingerprints taken and listened to talks from specialists such as dog handlers.
PC Sessions said: “This week is brilliant on so many levels. Not only does it give the children an insight into what the job of a police officer involves, it is a fun way for us to get to know them, for them to get to know us, and for them to see that we are here to help. Seeing this age group is great. They are going to secondary school soon, and it means we stand more chance of knowing people when we are out on patrol or attending incidents.”
PC Sessions said working with the children also helped break down barriers the police might face with adults, who would be influenced by their youngsters' positive reaction to the police.
Headteacher Jill Ward said the school was pleased to welcome PC Sessions and other officers to the school for the third year running. She added: “It's a great experience for the children. They are given the opportunity to see the caring and supportive role of the police within the community. Throughout the week we are very fortunate to have a lot of representatives from the police who come to talk to the children and demonstrate different aspects of police work.”
Mrs Ward said the children – who created their own version of the police uniform – were inspired by and benefited from the week. She added: “From the comments that have been made by the children the police force could be having a number of ‘new recruits' from College Town in the near future.”
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