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Police accused of ‘child labour’ after getting ten-year-old school pupils to point speed guns at drivers in PR stunt

Furious motorists accused police of using ‘child labour’ by enlisting schoolchildren to point speed guns at drivers from the side of ‘dangerous’ roads in a PR stunt.

South Sefton Police enlisted the help of local 10-year-old children as part of their operation to ‘improve road safety’ last month and scold motorists for ‘selfishly breaking the speed limit’.

The service posted a photo on its social media of a ‘mini police officer’ pointing a speedometer at the Liverpool road with the caption describing a ‘speeding operation’ conducted by ‘the small police’.


The children weren’t handing out fines to offenders, who the police speculated were parents ‘rushing to get their kids from school’, but instead they were dishing out stern warnings.

Many drivers and parents alike flooded to the comments to express their concern for the children’s safety as they were ‘hanging about on the side of the road’, which they claimed was ‘irresponsible’.



South Sefton Police enlisted the help of local 10-year-old children as part of their operation to 'improve road safety' last month and scold motorists for 'selfishly breaking the speed limit'

South Sefton Police enlisted the help of local 10-year-old children as part of their operation to 'improve road safety' last month and scold motorists for 'selfishly breaking the speed limit'

South Sefton Police enlisted the help of local 10-year-old children as part of their operation to ‘improve road safety’ last month and scold motorists for ‘selfishly breaking the speed limit’

Year Five children at Ursuline Catholic Primary School participated in the stunt

Year Five children at Ursuline Catholic Primary School participated in the stunt

Year Five children at Ursuline Catholic Primary School participated in the stunt


Despite the controversy in the comments, Sefton Local Police expressed they were grateful as it helped encourage a conversation about speeding

Despite the controversy in the comments, Sefton Local Police expressed they were grateful as it helped encourage a conversation about speeding

Despite the controversy in the comments, Sefton Local Police expressed they were grateful as it helped encourage a conversation about speeding

Others branded the stunt ‘delusional’ and claimed it was ‘exploitation’ of the children involved as it was akin to ‘child labour’.

The police clarified that children were accompanied at all times by both a teacher and police officer, remained on the pavement away from the road, wore hi-viz, and had written consent from their parents or guardian to attend.


However, while the police referred to the children as their ‘little helpers’, this also sparked outrage among many who accused them of ‘exploiting’ the children for ‘child labour’ and doing a police officer’s job ‘for free’.

Another wrote: ‘Surely this is exploitation of children.’

One put: ‘Nice child labour. I think a child hanging around on the side of the road is a particularly bad idea.’

Another sarcastically said: ‘I know, let’s get the kids to do the police job for free.’


One person said: ‘I thought the police protected kids from child labour not encouraged it.’

 Those online slammed the force as ‘irresponsible’ and ‘unprofessional’.

One person wrote online: ‘I am not disagreeing about the effects speeding can have on people’s lives. What we are talking about here is the health and safety of children. 

‘I’m sure the children do love coming out with you and telling adults off. But how would you feel if one of these kids got injured or even, god forbid, killed?’



Another questioned: ‘Why put a child near a road where people speed? Crazy world we live in.’

Commenters branded the stunt 'delusional' and claimed it was 'exploitation' of the children involved as it was akin to 'child labour'

Commenters branded the stunt 'delusional' and claimed it was 'exploitation' of the children involved as it was akin to 'child labour'

Commenters branded the stunt ‘delusional’ and claimed it was ‘exploitation’ of the children involved as it was akin to ‘child labour’


Despite the controversy in the comments, Sefton Local Police expressed they were grateful as it helped encourage a conversation about speeding, quoting the road safety charity Brake that ‘one in every three fatal road collisions involves excessive speed’.

Sefton Police responded to the online reaction in a comment, which read: ‘Thanks for all the comments – you’ve helped us reach lots more people than we ever hoped to thanks to the conversation our speeding initiative has sparked.

‘Speeding is a polarising topic but the facts are clear – one in every three fatal road traffic collisions involves excessive speed. 

‘And lowering average speeds by just one mile per hour can reduce the number of collisions by five per cent. Improving road safety is part of our job as is saving lives and stopping people getting hurt.


‘We do a lot more on top of that – just look at the news pages of our website to read about the burglars, drug dealers, sex offenders, and gang members we have caught.

‘We chose Warren Road on Friday because local people have complained about speeding, and in this area there are two schools and two nurseries. Our ‘Mini Police’ children are from a local primary school that helps us in our education of adults about road safety and traffic laws, as well as other stuff.

‘They love coming out with us and giving adults a telling off for selfishly breaking the speed limit and putting other people like them at risk. On Friday the main excuse was ‘I was rushing to get my kids from school’ and drivers we stopped were particularly sheepish to be caught out by children.

‘No-one was given a ticket or a fine – we let the kids do the talking and that was enough for most. You can read more about the seriousness of speeding and the impact it has on stopping distances and road deaths on the Brake charity website where there is a great animation that explains everything.’


Local Policing Superintendent for Sefton, Paul Holden said: ‘We have run these operations for a number of years and they have been incredibly successful in not only educating drivers and children, but also in helping to keep our roads safe.

‘These speeding operations are held on roads that residents are most concerned about and where they make reports of various driving offences. This includes speeding vehicles, and we take these reports extremely seriously and respond in many ways. We make no apology for using every tactic at our disposal to protect the public, including policing our roads to remove dangerous drivers from our streets.

‘It’s of paramount importance that the children involved in these operations are safe at all times. They wear high-vis jackets and are accompanied by teachers and police officers at all times and stand back from the road during the operation.

‘Children are allowed to hold the speed guns to give them an insight into how the officers stop speeding cars, but only the officers signal for the vehicles to stop and the initial conversation with the motorists are always held with the officer.


‘Once the drivers have exited their vehicles and are safely stood on the pavement, the children join officers in talking to them and reminding them of their responsibilities on the road. This educational talk is offered to a driver as an alternative to a possible fine or points placed on a licence.

‘This approach has proven to be incredibly impactful over the years and allows the driver to listen to how their actions behind the wheel can affect local children who live in the area, as well as other residents.

‘It also serves as a reminder that if they fail to drive safely and legally in the future, they risk being on the receiving end of enforcement action such as fines or points added to their licence.’

Ursuline Catholic Primary School have been contacted for comment.


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