UK NEWS

RETURN OF THE PARK KEEPER....BUT WITH A MODERN TWIST

New style Ranger with her 'head-cam'

Saturday July 19,2008

By Jo Willey

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IF we put on our rose-tinted spectacles we can look back to a time when park rangers had a cheery word for everyone – even picking up the odd spot of litter.

But the “parkie” on patrol became all but extinct a few decades ago, with only a few rare sightings in the Nineties.

Now they’re back – with police-style “head cams” – in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour in yobbish Britain.

In a tell-tale sign of a far more fearful society these days, the new rangers wear the head-mounted cameras to catch troublemaking thugs and petty criminals in the act.

Under a clampdown, in Dartford, Kent, teams of rangers are patrolling parks, playgrounds and cemeteries.

“The days of giving a clip round the ear may be gone, but the new rangers will be highly visible,” said Dartford Council leader Jeremy Kite.

He added: “There are far too many stupid gimmicks when it comes to law and order and sometimes the old-fashioned ideas work best.

“When I was a kid the presence of a park keeper not only made me feel safer but kept me and my mates in line.”

Carley Vaughan, one of the new rangers, said: “The council leader wanted to bring back the parkies he remembered from his own childhood and it’s been really successful.

“Although we’ve updated a little with new technology, we’re still doing all the things that kept him in line and kept him safe when he was a kid.”

The new rangers wear a much more practical uniform, too. Blue trousers and polo shirts have replaced the old rather ill-fitting brown suits and jaunty hats.

Budget cuts saw the parkie almost vanish in the Seventies and were phased out by most councils by the Nineties.

The days of giving a clip round the ear have gone

Jeremy Kite

AND WE ALL KNOW WHERE THIS ALL GOING , DON'T WE ?

19.07.08, 6:27pm

The camera will be used to assist the Council and Courts in brining to justice and imposing fines on Little old ladies feeding the ducks and birds, Or maybe parents taking family snaps of their own children, you get my drift.

You can be sure that the Parkies will not be of much use and will not gather too much eveidence on the camera, when the travellers decide to pitch up and make the Local park into a no go area.

• Posted by: BratislavaUK • Report Comment

PARKIES

19.07.08, 5:44pm

Arm them with Kalashnikovs and turn them loose.
'Make my day, Punk..........'

• Posted by: grj • Report Comment

CLIP AROUND THE EAR!

19.07.08, 7:05am

Well it's a start, to getting the old country back to some kind of normality. Although it's a pity about the absents of the clip around the ear. Mind you, even it were condoned by law, it would be unadvisable, the kids are probably all carrying knives or guns. Still like I said it is a start back to the old country. As the say in Greece cigar cigar, which means slowly slowly.

• Posted by: expatpete60 • Report Comment