‘Warden reform to emphasise education over sanctioning’ - Herrera

The primary objective of the proposed reform of the warden system is to change the mentality of wardens from one of sanctioning to that of “educating”, junior minister Jose Herrera said this afternoon.

“In the past, wardens were deemed as being there solely to issue tickets for traffic offences. The emphasis now is to add more flexibility to their roles and to make sure that they educate the public," Herrera said, adding that the aim was to for wardens to ”become friends” with the public.

Addressing a meeting with representatives of the General Retailers and Traders Union (GRTU), Herrera argued that wardens will be instructed to sit for a course similar to the ones which police officials sit through while at the police academy.

“This training will help wardens understand their roles better. Wardens will continue to enforce the law but this discipline must be tied in with rationality and manners,” he said.

In addition, Herrera said, the new training programme would seek to offset the lack of respect wardens are currently receiving when compared with police officials.

“The act of enforcing does not simply equate to the handing out of tickets," Herrera argued.

The junior minister, who is the main sponsor of the governemnt’s proposed warden reform, hinted at the implementation of a hierarchal and divisional process, whereby wardens would be specifically tasked with overseeing traffic and the environment.

"This will hopefully make our system a more effective one," he said.

Referring to the “exaggerated” number of tickets which remain unpaid, Herrera said that the government was considering linking the fines to the person, as opposed to the current system which links it to the car - a system which Herrera said people could find ways around.

"If, for instance, the tickets are registered on a particular vehicle, owned by a car rental company, the owner may simply decide to not use that vehicle and thereby avoid having to pay their dues," he explained.

On his part, GRTU president Paul Abela outlined the retailers' considerations for the proposed change in the system.

Abela said that a reform was 'certainly needed' but expressed his concern that wardens did not always distinguish between first-time offenders and repeated ones.

Pace said that a number of the Union's members often complained about being issued tickets unjustly.

"There does not seem to be enough appreciation for those workers who are constantly on the road such as delivery persons," he said.

"For instance, these people often find that the areas were they are legally allowed to stop (loading/unloading spaces) are taken by other drivers not eligible for that space," Pace argued.

The GRTU president also claimed that commercial productivity was suffering due to an increase in cars and traffic.

“One can no longer identify the rush hour. In an effort to alleviate traffic congestion, there could be a system of monitoring drivers who used the 'fast lane' unnecessarily,” Pace hinted.

Pace also suggested that there could be an online system whereby the general public could report traffic contraventions.