Press Release

Residents To Benefit From Street Warden Changes

30/05/2008

RESIDENTS across the borough are now able to benefit from Camden Council’s award winning street warden service, after the Executive agreed to make the resource more flexible with enhanced powers to tackle antisocial behaviour.

At last night’s (Wednesday, 28 May 2008) Executive meeting members agreed the recommendation to deploy street wardens in a ‘cluster plus approach’ – one team covering the north, a second covering the south, and a third flexible team supplementing the other two.

The change, which follows a review into antisocial behaviour by the Council – the first of its kind in the country, means street wardens could be posted anywhere in the borough, benefiting all residents – not just the three wards they have covered since their introduction in 2002 (1).

The teams will still cover specific locations, determined by where they’re most needed such as high levels of youth disorder, and will deal with issues in that area for a minimum of six months.

Cllr James King, Executive Member for Community Safety, said: “We have listened to residents in taking a more flexible approach to street warden deployment. The cluster plus option is great news for Camden as residents from across the borough will now have the opportunity to benefit from the fantastic work undertaken by our wardens.

“In the past there have been a number of occasions where street warden patrols would have been extremely beneficial in helping to deal with issues such as youth disorder and increased levels of antisocial behaviour. However, due to being restricted to Camden Town, Bloomsbury or King’s Cross wards they were unable to help.

“It makes no sense to keep wardens in the same three areas of the borough based on old crime data. But it makes every sense to have wardens in areas which need them most, based on the extensive, up-to-date knowledge of antisocial behaviour and crime patterns we now have.”

The Council is also now seeking to get wardens accredited. This will give them the power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for low-level offences such as dog fouling, graffiti, littering and fly posting.

Cllr King added: “I think wardens should be able to take action against acts of antisocial behaviour committed in their presence. By having this additional power to issue FPNs the wardens can help tackle low-level crime such as graffiti and dog fouling, which often blights the lives of so many of our residents.”

Camden’s street warden service was re-examined following a review into antisocial behaviour by the Council. The review recommended it look at what street wardens do, how they are deployed across the borough, and the powers they have.

The review - drawing on evidence from a wide range of experts, both local and national - recommended council patrol teams be more flexible and responsive.

It is hoped the areas and tasks the new teams will cover will be set by June. The Council will determine current areas of concern by looking at the most up-to-date crime and antisocial behaviour data and will then decide where street wardens would be most beneficial.

Each teams’ progress will be reviewed every six months and the ‘cluster plus approach’ will be reviewed after 12 months.

For a copy of the full report visit the below link: http://www3.camden.gov.uk/templates/committees/documents/24376.doc

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