Dear Editor,

On Thursday night the television news broadcasts carried clips of uniformed police officers lifting barrels and handcarts into dumper trucks and tractors, in an effort to rid downtown Kingston streets of illegal vendors. I do not mean to sound like an ingrate, but too often we see police officers, in uniform and plain clothes, clearing roads blocked with debris during protests.

No police officer should be required to clear garbage or debris from the streets. I also believe that government should not compensate any police officer for injury sustained during such activities, as that is ultra vires the scope of his duties. The responsibility for the clearing of garbage from our streets rests with the National Solid Waste Management Authority whose mission it is to provide "efficient and effective collection, disposal and management of solid waste..." The police officers' responsibility is to summon the NSWMA to the scene, maintain law and order, and arrest while the NSWMA's team clears the debris.

I appreciate that circumstances will arise in which the sheer exigencies will demand that the police give a hand, but this is bordering on the ridiculous. How often do we see members of the NSWMA at the scene of a protest, whether issuing tickets to the litterbugs or assisting in clearing debris? If the police continue to play the role of "garbage men", pretty soon the NSWMA employees will be telling us, "A police work dat."

Mr Commissioner, please put an end to this rubbish.

Nya Wright

Kingston 10

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