A HANDFUL of mini police officers assisted traffic operations in Atherton last week to tackle local crime and deter speeding.
As part of Operation Acquire, GMP say they are committed to tackling the crimes that mean the most to communities, with officers showing children how they sweep for knives in parks in the first iniative.
The second initiative took place around Hamilton Street in Atherton, which is close to Parklee Primary and Atherton High School.
Although the road is a signposted 20-mph with speed bumps, this has been a longstanding issue as the road is a particular speeding hotspot.
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Police officers from GMP’s Wigan neighbourhood team, alongside a group of Mini Police officers conducted a speed gun operation on the road to enforce the limit.
While some officers continued to conduct the speed gun operation, some remained with the Mini Police to speak to drivers who were stopped.
Two police officers spoke to the drivers first to ask if they would be on board with having the Mini Police officers speak with them, and then brought the children over in pairs to advise the driver about the speed limit and the dangers that speeding could cause.
PC Lydia Rouse, of Wigan’s neighbourhood team, said: “This was very well received, with all 21 drivers that we stopped in 45 minutes, responding well to being spoken to by the children.
“The Headteacher of the nearby school, also helped us demonstrate how we breathalyse the drivers we pulled over and I am very pleased to say she passed!
“We appreciate that people lead busy lives and may feel the need to drive over the speed limit to get from A to B but myself, alongside the mini police, urge you to think about the consequences of driving too fast.
“We work closely with our community who continue to express concerns about speeding in the area and the work we do to enforce speed limits on our roads is imperative to the safety of our communities - there is a limit there for a reason.
“The Mini Police loved the activity and learnt a lot about the dangers of speeding and road safety and this provides them with a fantastic opportunity to see what police officers do on a daily basis whilst also helping and supporting their local community and school."
Hey Conal,
Would you mind adding a comment in on the Atherton Mini police article - it seems Lydia may have missed a quote from me!
Councillor Lee McStein, who was also attending the operation said: “The mini police initiative is continuing to make an important, visible impact in Atherton.
“We frequently get speeding complaints about Hamilton Street so the operation was well justified, and pulling over such a high number of drivers during school hours shows how necessary this was.“
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