28-05-2025
Traffic wardens 'might not be the most popular people' when they start Dumfries and Galloway patrols
Dumfries and Galloway Council is set to take over responsibility for enforcing parking regulations from Police Scotland.
Officials admit traffic wardens 'might not be the most popular people' when they start patrolling the Stewartry.
The council is set to take over responsibility for enforcing parking regulations from Police Scotland.
A draft of how the local authority will deliver decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) was presented at Stewartry area committee on Wednesday.
To ensure parking rules are followed, there are plans to hire six traffic wardens to work across the region.
Network strategy and road safety team leader, Tony Topping, said: 'They'll be very much a front line service.
'We'll need to train them in things like conflict management, they'll need body cams.
'They might not be the most popular people when they start out issuing tickets so we will need people with certain characteristics that will be able to deliver on that.'
It could take another year for DPE to be confirmed and Mr Topping added: 'Once we start to roll it out, maybe the first month we'll take a softer approach, we won't go out heavy handed and start fining people from day one.'
He warned that DPE was for the whole region, meaning rules can be enforced in any town, village, road and street across the region.
And some areas may see more wardens during busy periods, such as tourist season.
