Case Study East Riding

East Riding of Yorkshire Council (Bridlington area)

Regular patrols make area safer

Reducing crime, and the fear of it, needed a new approach. The answer was to pilot a community warden scheme that provides a combination of regular patrols, home security surveys and monitoring of empty properties in Bridlington.

The Bridlington community wardens also visit vulnerable residents and work with young people. They have direct links to colleagues with powers to deal with graffiti, litter, abandoned vehicles and fly-tipping and from January 2007, the wardens themselves were also given enforcement powers to deal with littering and dog fouling offences.

Pockets of the East Riding of Yorkshire fall into the top 10 per cent of areas of high deprivation nationwide – and two ‘super output’ areas in Bridlington are the most deprived in the East Riding.

Initiating the idea

The initial idea came up in mid 2005 and, by the beginning of April 2006, the wardens were out on the street. The manager of the council’s anti-social behaviour team, Nigel Brignall, was seconded to set up the scheme, and became the full-time team leader. His considerable experience of multi-agency working and his local contacts proved invaluable in creating an effective service.

"Initially we conducted research into services already available and identified community needs. The following steps were to assemble community resources and establish a team. We then determined baseline figures and agreed monitoring arrangements" - Nigel

Local people, partner agencies and elected members backed the idea of a pilot scheme, and the police, fire and rescue service, town council, Neighbourhood Watch groups and community groups helped prepare the business plan. This joint effort proved vitally important in ensuring that the project delivered what local people wanted. The scheme is run by East Riding Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.

EU funding

Funding of £500,000 came from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund (SSCF). This paid for a team of six wardens, a team leader, two part-time support assistants and the part-time project manager.

"Funding is always a difficulty when base budget funding is not available. However external funding was secured, but this restricts the area which the wardens can cover. We also had difficulty obtaining baseline data, however this was addressed by conducting an extensive Quality of Life Survey throughout the area" - Nigel

The trial runs until 2008 but, if it proves successful, the council hope to find more funding to keep the service running. Results so far have led to a second pilot being considered for the Goole area.

Distinctive red uniform

Office space was found in the centrally located Bridlington Community Resource Centre – a building already used by many local services. From this base, wardens set out on patrol from 8.15am to 8pm Monday to Friday, from 10.30am to 6.30pm on Saturdays and from 10.30am to 6pm on Sundays. Because Bridlington is a tourist resort and sees a big increase in visitors during the summer, wardens work until 9.30pm during the holiday season.

A distinctive red uniform was chosen to make the wardens recognisable but distinct from council or police officers. Training was delivered by the North East Warden Resource Centre.

Unexpected challenges and benefits

One of the challenges the council faced in setting up the scheme was in graffiti removal and also in refuse collection, where there were potential liability issues should wardens damage anything. A disclaimer was prepared and agreed with Legal Services so that wardens could carry out these important functions.

An unexpected benefit has been that community wardens are seen as ‘friends’. They can make links with young people and can even engage with those on the edge of becoming involved in anti-social behaviour or minor crimes.

The council has already learnt that the scheme relies on effective information-sharing with the police, and on making sure people understand the role of the warden as distinct from a police officer or police community support officer.

"Don’t be frightened to take a ‘calculated’ risk to assist in meeting your objectives – try something – we are only a pilot – and if it doesn’t work, so be it. If it does work, celebrate it and tell others how and why it worked. Always push yourselves to get involved in other agencies’ initiatives. It gets you known and improves awareness of your role within the area. Finally, make best use of publicity and keep your customers informed of what you are doing" - Nigel

Reducing crime

Since the scheme began a number of crime figures have reduced and impending action against an individual responsible for many littering problems should save the council around £300 a week.

Wardens also remove graffiti quickly, which cuts the number of offences, and can help identify offenders. The council saves money on costly clean-ups.

The council hopes to use the community warden network as a springboard for more projects. Possibilities include a partnership with Powergen to provide free energy-efficient lightbulbs for residents, distributed and fitted by the wardens.

With an increase in house burglary, wardens have received training in home security surveys and the use of basic hand-tools. Working with the police, Victim Support and the Domestic Violence Team, the wardens can fit basic home security equipment such as door chains and window locks.

For more information, please contact Nigel Brignall on 01482 391032 or at nigel.brignall@eastriding.gov.uk