Crab:
"utter bo**ocks Krypton John, you clearly have an agenda to pursue here."

No agenda,other than the pursuit of common sense over a slavish adherence to regs.

"Note that your heroic policewoman (and she did an excellent job) was off-duty and may have been constrained by professional protocols had she been on-duty on the beach."

Now you are making stuff up.

"If you don't understand the dangers posed by swift-water (and by this I mean inland flooding not coastal tides) then you should try standing up in 2 feet of water moving at 5 mph - some of the 'special training' you dismiss so readily."

Why are you bringing this "swift water" into this? Neither example cited had any "swift water".

"Surely even in NZ" you understand the first rule of first aid is not to become another casualty????"

Well obviously. It's called judgement and experience and it's what you use instead of looking up regulations to tell you what to do or not to do.

no but that is the 'special training' that you dismiss regarding water more than 3 feet deep.

No-one is suggesting that the incident when the PCSOs didn't go in was admirable or sensible but it was an isolated incident completely unrepresentative of what goes on in the rest of the country. There are sensible guidelines given regarding entry into water but they are 'handrails' not 'handcuffs'.

your agenda seems to be the 'nanny state' about which you appear to have a very distorted and 'Daily Mail' view.

professionals are constrained by protocols - ask any doctor or nurse who comes across an accident or injury.

and if your judgement is skewed due to ego and your experience doesn't extend to the situation at hand, then wading in makes you a fool not a hero. No-one is suggesting you need to look up rules and regs before saving a life - just think a bit first.

If you saw someone knocked down crossing a busy road, would you run straight out into the traffic or would you try to stop it or wait for a clear patch before rendering aid?