OAP army to get radar guns

It appears that in one part of brum they are trialling a scheme where OAP are being given yellow jackets and speed monitoring guns to catch speeding drivers on dangerous stretches of road. They would be accompanied at times by a PCSO. I was asked for my comments on this scheme by one of our local news agencies. I have reported on this blog that I am involved with neighbourhood watch and other crime prevention activities in Sandwell so maybe that was why I was asked to give a pensioners view on this. Pisspotical, this must be another of Joker Jackies more bonkers ideas. I had to temper my comments to the press and give a balanced view but basically I think it is a non starter. If the article does go out I’ll publish here. NHW does a good job and it is mostly older people who run these schemes but to try to use volunteer pensioners in this way I think is dangerous although I can see the frustration by some people who see dangerous and illegal actions going unpunished. I’m thinking using mobile phones while driving. A police officer was knifed recently for telling a youths to pick up their litter. What might an irate driver do?
I suppose in one way it is recognition to some extent of the value of our older population which I think is grossly overlooked by our politicians and I think it is time we started to put a value on some of the voluntary work we do.
This week we saw government wanting to introduce back to work schemes for people on benefits. We should perhaps consider paying the older population for the valuable voluntary contribution it is making to our society. Not the miserly attitude that Brown & Co have adopted over the last ten years.