We recently published a post about parking rangers, titled ‘The People vs The Parking Police’, which explored some of the consumer frustrations with parking police. On Tuesday (July 28), a report was published by the United Services Union exposing the other viewpoint – that of the parking rangers.
The report, ‘Moving on for Safety’, publishes the results of a survey of council rangers in NSW, revealing an alarming 46% of rangers across the State have been subjected to some form of physical abuse. Of greater concern is that 60% of rangers believe that the incidence of abuse and assault is increasing, while more than half (52%) said the assaults were becoming more violent in nature.
Rangers have reported being stabbed, run over, hit in the head, as well as being stalked and having threats made against them and their families. The report found 98% of rangers have been verbally abused while on the job, with many saying the abuse is personal, with racial or sexual overtones.
Rangers have called for a range of measures to be used to tackle workplace violence including better training in self-defence, protective equipment, working in pairs, as well as improving the services available following incidents. The report also indicates that the abuse is often personal and has a long lasting effect on rangers and their health.
Perhaps, as well as learning how to deal with violence, they should receive training on how to avoid it, increasing their customer relation and communication skills…