Mini-Police take to the streets of Kirkby to tackle speeding

This week, drivers speeding through Knowsley encountered an unusual and rather powerful intervention by Merseyside Police’s youngest recruits – the Mini-Police.

These primary-school-aged Mini-Police debuted in Kirkby to help spread awareness about road safety, delivering a strong message to drivers caught exceeding the speed limit.

Drivers caught going above the speed limit were given the choice either prosecution, or to face a mini-police court where the children were given free rein to question defendants about their actions.

Local Policing Temporary Inspector for Kirkby, David Hassett, said:

“It’s something nobody is expecting. You’re in a rush to get somewhere, your mind just on getting where you need to go, and then suddenly you’re standing in front of these very calm, very serious children, and they’re asking you why you thought getting to your appointment on time was worth them dying. You’d have to be made of stone not to be effected by it.

“We want to get the message through to people about speeding, and our mini-police are a great way to do that in a way that does have an impact. Tragically, children do get killed and seriously injured by speeding drivers in Merseyside, and this is a way to empower them as a group of road users – a way to give them a voice.

“It’s something that hopefully will stay with the people we caught speeding today, and make them think twice next time, and hopefully will stay with our mini-police when they become drivers themselves one day.”

Three drivers stopped chose to face the Mini-Police rather than face formal speeding sanctions, with some shedding tears in the face of the children’s questioning.

Merseyside Police runs regular speed operations as part of its ongoing work to reduce the numbers of those killed or seriously injured. For road safety and speeding information, visit Merseyside Road Safety Partnership – Share the road Share responsibility