§ 58. Sir J. Lucasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will consider making it a condition of enrolment as traffic wardens that they should become special constables, in view of the fact that they have now no legal right to take offenders' names and addresses and are liable to a charge of assault unless they have powers of arrest.
§ Mr. RentonNo. Section 2 (5) of the Road Traffic and Roads Improvement Act, 1960, provides that a police authority shall not employ as traffic warden any person who is a constable.
§ 62. Sir J. Lucasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the general desire on the part of motorists to co-operate with traffic wardens in the course of their duties, he will instruct the wardens to exercise their powers with discretion, since excessive strictness in some cases was the cause of intense unpopularity at first, and of a number of consequential resignations.
§ Mr. RentonTraffic wardens act under the direction of chief officers of police, and it would not be appropriate for my right hon. Friend to issue instructions in the sense suggested. If my hon. Friend has in mind any particular cases in which he considers that a traffic warden has failed to exercise proper discretion, I shall be glad to bring them to the attention of the chief officers concerned.