Retired seniors in Michigan are a legal force to be reckoned with after Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed an act giving Retired Senior Volunteer patrols expanded authority to write parking tickets.
Prior to July, the volunteers had limited power to ticket. Now, the patrols can hand out violation notices for anything from parking on a crosswalk to parking within five metres of a fire hydrant.
A force of about 200 seniors assist police in the state's Kent County. Police Chief Richard Mattice of the city of Kentwood says the senior force takes more time with ticketing, including snapping photographs of violators' vehicles, freeing up regular police officers. The seniors are instructed not to get into confrontations, volunteer Gordon Kelley told the The Grand Rapids Press.
"When they do confront us, we just close our windows and shut the car," he says.
-- Canwest News Service
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