Civilian Traffic Control.
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The general public is probably a little sceptical as to the practical utility of the services, which are being rendered so readily by thousands of special constables throughout the country. At first the professional policeman himself was amused, in a tolerant way, at the idea that a mere civilian could satisfactorily supplement the services which his years of training particularly fitted him to offer. As the weeks have gone by, however, the special constable has shown himself to be of real importance. His regular confrere has not been slow to appreciate this amateur assistance, and a spirit of remarkable comradeship has already sprung up on lonely beats in all parts of the Metropolis. It is certain that the new force takes its duties very seriously, and, although a little bit dismayed at first by the monotony of the deities, and the absence of happenings, it remains keen.
His duties, as a pule, are very far removed from the sensational. Seldom does he have to catch a burglar, and only in the rarest cases is he called upon to interfere in street disturbances or accidents. In Ike majority of cases he is told off as an additional vigilant guard at gasometers, waterworks and other vulnerable points of our municipal organizations. Help of this sort, when the duties of the regular police have recently been so greatly increased, is, as a matter of fact, proving invaluable.
One of our contemporaries has suggested that the recrudescence of fast driving, which has been noticeable in certain quarters since police-trap activity lessened, might be checked effectively by the appointment of corps of special motor constables. The suggestion somewhat smacks of " Setting a thief to catch a thief," but it is none the less practicable on that account. We do not anticipate that this suggestion will meet with the approval of the Home Office, and, although it might result in checking the few motorists who consider themselves licensed to take liberties at the present time, we of the commercial-vehicle world must admit to some anxiety that the attentions of these high-speed custodians might be unduly concentrated against drivers of steam wagons and heavy petrol lorries, from which latter source the private motorist has, it is to be feared, not infrequently, in peace times, encountered real or fancied obstruction. These are times when numberless people are busy offering to do the jobs ,which are proper to other people ; when the professional man, be he soldier or sailor, police expert or medical officer, is often confused by numberless suggestions from people who suddenly feel themselves called upon to render national service in a sphere in which their lack of actual practical experience is the most noteworthy characteristic. We do not lack amongst us, for instance, men who, untrained and inexperienced though they be, volunteer suggestions which, in their own opinion, would have, for instance, avoided the naval disaster off Chili. Were some of our military amateurs given free rein, we should—perhaps—have been half way to Berlin with our troops by now. Maybe the organization of medical relief and ambulance equipments has afforded the greatest scope for both sexes for the outlet of this superfluous and so often unskilled energy.
Conscious of such conditions, we suggest, at a. time when the duties of the police are increased to such an extent as to become almost too heavy, that one direction in which suitable selected help might be afforded is in that of traffic control by civilians at many. important points. Not every special constable would be suitable for such duties, but there are many who would discharge them most effectively, notably those who are accustomed to such an extraordinary task, shall we say, as the successful packing of 180 motorbuses in a garage originally designed to contain 160. There are plenty of men who can with facility essay such a feat. One only has to remember the remarkable success with which the efforts of 26 civilian marshals were attended on the occasion of the last C.M.U,A. Parade to realize how practicable it would be to secure assistance of this kind. On that occasion, over 500 motor vehicles were marshalled in an area in which many of them had never been before, accurately and promptly, in just over an hour and a half without a symptom of a hitch. A duty of this kind could surely, in many instances, be effectively discharged by special constables to the relief of many of the overworked and depleted rank and file on point duty.