Crime Reduction - Helping to Reduce Crime in Your Area

Eyes and Ears The Role of Neighbourhood Wardens

 This briefing highlights existing neighbourhood scheme models and the emergence of Policing Community Support Officers (PCSO's), with the potential choice a community safety partnership may have to make between PCSO's and neighbourhood wardens.

Title: Eyes and ears - The role of neighbourhood wardens
Authors: Susan Doran
Series:  Nacro Community Safety Practice Briefings
Number of pages: 12
Date published: July 2003

This briefing considers the impact of warden schemes. These schemes, maintaining control over disorder and incivilities, can break the link with serious disorder. Not dealing upon minor incidents such as vandalism, graffiti, abandoned vehicles etc. can lead to higher level disorder, community crime fears, and serious criminal activity. Wardens act as incident reporters to appropriate agencies, and also monitor the pace of damaged property repairs.

In areas that have gained a reputation as crime hotspots, fewer people may go out at certain times. A knock-on effect of the community absence in public places brings opportunity for crime. Neighbourhood wardens acting as capable guardians can reduce this prospect, as potential surveillance modifies people's behaviour. ie. victims are reminded of risk, and offenders are reminded of detection. Neighbourhood wardens can also bridge a gap between formal policing structures and informal communities, building links with community members through their consistent visible presence.

According to Stockdale's (2002) evaluation of eight neighbourhood warden schemes, wardens have a useful role to play in:

• neighbourhood renewal initiatives

• helping reduce crime fears and positively addressing quality of life issues including community safety

• dealing with sub-criminal activity and minimising anti social behaviour impacts

• filling gaps in existing local provision and complementing the work of existing agencies.

Having established good community contacts, wardens are best placed to direct agencies to problems within their area.

Can Wardens Make Crime Reduction Impacts?

Warden schemes are a relatively new initiative in the United Kingdom. Insufficient time has passed to make judgement on longer-term scheme impacts. Evidence is mixed yet it is clear wardens prove useful within community cohesion, enhancing quality of life issues positively.

It is imperative the following criteria are in place to ensure an effective scheme:

• clear aims and objectives

• consulting and involving the key local community stakeholders from initialisation.

• establishing and maintaining key linkages (strategies, community groups, local agencies)

• raising scheme work awareness

• effective communication strategy (internal and external)

• understanding needs and problems facing the target area

• choosing the right model to suit the target area

• robust performance management framework

• high quality training for wardens and scheme managers

• sustainability and continuity - including securing ongoing funding

Warden Scheme Functions

Broadly speaking, schemes can be categorised into the following terms:

• providing support for vulnerable members of the community

• meeting and greeting and the provision of information

• assisting with housing management tenant liaison and monitoring of voids

• fostering social cohesion, community engagement and development.

• helping to preventing crime and anti-social behaviour

• identifying and dealing with environmental problems including graffiti removal and abandoned vehicles

Warden Roles

Duties include patrolling community liaison, acting as vigilance for police and local authority, reporting and fast tracking repairs, school liaison, and working with young people and vulnerable residents.

Wardens undertake a variety of different names, as there are slight variations within the particular role. These include Neighbourhood wardens, Concierges, super caretakers, Street Wardens, and Street Crime Wardens.

Policing Community Support Officers (PSCOs)

PCSOs were created through the Police Reform Act 2002.  PCSOs are partly funded by The Home Office and by Local Constabularies. They should be allocated only to specific problem areas once a robust problem solving approach has been undertaken. Concern was raised surrounding possible confusion regarding PCSOs, Neighbourhood wardens, and their existing schemes.

Warden schemes have the following advantages over PSCOs:

• closer to their communities

• more focused on community development and cohesion

• more flexible than PSCOs in tackling liveability issues.

Neighbourhood Scheme Models

There are three types of model to follow when designing a scheme:

• Non enforcement model
  Build community capacity and liase with other relevant groups

• Enforcement of byelaws model
  Enforces existing local authority byelaws, whilst collecting evidence for anti-social behaviour orders

• Enforcement plus model
  Extension of enforcement model, with wardens receiving training and increased citizens powers of arrest. Their appearance is similar to the police, reflected in equipment. ie. handcuffs etc.

Neighbourhood Scheme Additions

The full report also outlines key success factors for Neighbourhood warden schemes, training, information sharing protocols and funding opportunities

Download "EYES AND EARS: THE ROLE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD WARDENS" PDF 125KB

Last update: Tuesday, August 26, 2008