At long last, the manned security sector is in for a radical shakedown. Sooner rather than later, contractors and end users alike have to deal with the ramifications of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 and the Working Time Directive (the UK derogation for which is due to be lifted next October). On top of that, police reform – as outlined in the White Paper ‘Policing A New Century: A Blueprint for Reform’ – heralds far-reaching changes to the scope of private sector security work.
At the forefront of David Blunkett’s plans for a ‘wider police family’ are community warden schemes and Community Support Officers (News, SMT, July 2002, p7), with the former likely to engender a greater involvement for security companies contracted to work alongside the police service. Indeed, a number of warden schemes have already been introduced around the country. What do they actually do, though? How does their remit differ from that of the police? Have their efforts to date made any difference to crime levels and the fight against anti-social behaviour, and does the experience gained thus far point to a bright future for such laudable initiatives?
Answers to these questions can be found by evaluating two of the already up-and-running schemes, namely that administered in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets by The Corps of Commissionaires, and Legion Security’s operation on behalf of West Lancashire District Council. As a true public sector-private sector partnership, the latter was cited in the Government White Paper as an exemplar for similar schemes which the Home Office would wish to see being developed. Importantly, the White Paper points out how the West Lancashire wardens work alongside the police and not in place of them.
This fact was highlighted by Legion’s operations director, Robbie Calder, during his presentation on the subject at this year’s IFSEC Conference. In essence, Calder was quick to point out that the scheme supports the police in their crime prevention tasks by acting as an intelligence source, and taking on the burden of “mundane, everyday problems” of a non-criminal nature within the local community.
Wardens for West Lancashire
The West Lancashire project was set in motion back in April last year thanks to a handsome GB pound 200,000 grant from the (then) Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions as part of the Government’s Challenge Fund. At the outset, its partners – Legion Security, the local authority and the police – had three main aims: crime prevention, environmental improvement and community development.
The planning process was led by the Council’s Community Safety Officer. Timeframes for training and recruitment were set, along with the wardens’ detailed tasks, their equipment requirements, working practices, job descriptions, personnel specifications and a Code of Practice for the (Council-owned) scheme. Legion Security provides the manpower, while the Council donates ‘the equipment’ (ie patrol vehicles and communication systems).
According to Robbie Calder, the scheme is designed to “address everyday issues that disrupt the lives of local residents. Without our wardens, some of these issues could escalate – providing the ideal environment for crime and disorder to develop.”
Originally, the local authority’s aspiration for the Skelmersdale-based operation was for 16 wardens and four supervisors, but the available budget meant scaling down to two supervisors heading two teams of three wardens patrolling 15 designated ‘routes’ within the Council’s district. One team operates from 10.00 am through to 6.00 pm, the other from 4.00 pm until midnight on a daily basis (the wardens on this shift patrol in pairs after 8.00 pm).
In fact, careful scheduling allows each warden to work the equivalent of a 40-hour week over a three-week period. They wear distinctive uniforms, while their patrol vehicles are clearly identified with the Council crest, Legion Security’s insignia and rooftop markings such that the police can spot them.
The wardens’ essential remit, then, is to provide a visible deterrent to crime, and at the same time tackle incidents of community disorder. In reality, this can encompass anything from reporting broken street lamps through to searching for missing children.
Other areas to be tackled include retail theft in local stores, the fly-tipping of rubbish, deliberately-set fires, vandalism and damage to vacant properties by unruly youths.
A constant headache for the local police over the past decade has been the dumping and burning of stolen vehicles on Council-owned land. At times, both police and fire service resources have been stretched to remove these vehicles, which pose both a safety hazard and an environmental eye sore. The wardens have now conducted a formal assessment of the areas affected, and a method of ‘sealing them off’ has been put in place. In addition, problems on one of the Council estates where anti-social behaviour was occurring have also been confronted thanks to the Legion wardens gathering video evidence. This has been passed to the police, and charges against a number of individuals have resulted.
Preparing for the local beat
In preparation for such a wide range of social responsibilities, the partners for the project agreed on a five-phase recruitment process: establishing the salary ranges, placing bespoke advertisements in local newspapers, using a paper ‘filter’ to identify 20 possible candidates, interviewing with a view to shortlisting 12 applicants and, lastly, re-interviewing to finalise the eight appointments.
The successful applicants were from a mixture of backgrounds, including the armed forces, the prison service and the police communications sector. All shared a common experience of community-based work with the Samaritans, drug counselling services and running youth clubs. Interestingly, the type of individual sought for the warden positions was the subject of much debate among the recruitment team. Why? Simple. The qualities and skills required are not normally those found among security officers.
Once the six wardens (five male, one female) and two (male) supervisors had been selected, it was then at the training stage that it really became clear as to just how valuable the partnership between the three main players had become. Various Council and Lancashire Police departments participated alongside Legion, the training beginning with a company induction and the basic SITO security officer’s course. Additional elements of the eclectic educational content covered first aid, crime prevention, briefings on housing issues, crime reporting and crime scene management, the Human Rights Act, conflict resolution, fire management, drug awareness issues and familiarisation on equipment and patrol tours.
As Robbie Calder stresses, as soon as they began work ‘on site’ the wardens were “welcomed by the vast majority of the community, and their relationship with the local people has gone from strength to strength”. He partly attributes this success to the wardens’ involvement with community groups, the fact that they regularly participate in local neighbourhood meetings, visit vulnerable tenants and the victims of crime and harassment, and respond to anti-social behaviour and neighbourhood disputes. The latter have always been a thorn in the side of the police service.
A certain degree of reservation was initially expressed about the scheme, and was also inferred by local beat-level policemen and women. Thankfully, that scepticism has been overcome through a combination of support from more senior police managers, the wardens’ own professional approach to the tasks at hand and their excellent intelligence gathering and reporting skills. As a result, the wardens are now valued by the police at all levels for the invaluable support they provide.
Speaking about the scheme, Lancashire Constabulary’s divisional commander – chief superintendent Paul Harry – said: “Early indications show that the wardens are fulfilling a wide range of useful tasks, many of which would otherwise have been undertaken by police officers – or would not have been done at all. They are also making a significant impact on public reassurance, although this is currently anecdotal and difficult to quantify.”
More importantly, for those private security companies looking to become part of the wider police family, Harry has these words of encouragement: “Divisional police management were involved in specifying the terms of reference for the wardens, writing their job descriptions and for contributing to their training. On a daily basis, the West Lancashire wardens are part of our tasking and co-ordinating mechanisms”. Importantly, Harry adds: “I have no reservations about the fact that they’re employees of a private company.”
That said, Legion’s Robbie Calder is keen to stress the need for a properly constituted and open partnership between a warden scheme operator, the local authority and the police – as is the case in West Lancashire.
“Without this honesty and acceptance of each other’s aspirations, strengths and weaknesses,” urged Calder, “I don’t believe the scheme would have been so successful.”
The Bethnal Green Angels
Lessons learned in West Lancashire may be compared and contrasted with the experience gained in the Bethnal Green area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Here, the local authority was prompted to investigate how wardens might help in addressing its own local problems after studying the results of a fear of crime survey conducted late last year.
The survey made for uncomfortable reading. Racial harassment, bullying and muggings were persistent themes. Gangs of youngsters selling and using drugs on estate housing block stairwells were impeding progress for all, and had become a threatening presence for young mothers and the elderly.
Overall, these problems had led to a significant fear of crime on the Collingwood Estate, and for Bethnal Green and Victoria Park Housing Association residents in Huddleston. As such, manned security contractor The Corps was invited to participate in a programme involving seven wardens and a supervisor, all of whom work a 40-hour week.
Their particular challenges involve working within a multi-cultural community – 80% of residents in this part of the Capital speak only Bengali and Sylhett – as well as the challenge of patrolling four estates with such a limited number of ‘men on the ground’. The answer? The wardens have had to make much use of ‘intelligence networks’ and transport links between the estates.
It was discovered that the 3.00 pm-11.00 pm period is the ‘window’ when residents feel most ill at ease. Accordingly, that’s when the wardens go out on patrol, concentrating on pre-planned trouble spots to make the very best use of their available time and resources.
Patrick Dealtry, commercial director at The Corps, told SMT about the ways in which the wardens have been able to assist residents and the police since the scheme kicked-off in October last year. For instance, they’ve helped in breaking up scuffles and incidents of bullying outside of local schools, prevented firework sales to underage children, tackled excessive degrees of noise pollution on the estates, dealt with squatters and escorted the elderly home late at night.
Operating from an office on the Bethnal Green Estate, The Corps wardens – also known as the Bethnal Green Angels, perhaps in deference to New York’s Guardian Angels – have managed to forge a good relationship with the residents, having had to overcome suspicions on the part of the various estate caretakers who felt that their jobs may be under threat.
The wardens’ ability to deal with problems on the spot, without having to involve the Council or the police, has shown to the residents that bypassing bureaucratic, lengthy and often frustrating procedures leads to speedy results. In turn, this has led to a healthy respect for the wardens and the job they do.
Dealtry emphasises how important this is. “The credibility of the wardens locally is the key to the respect which they enjoy. They help the police like a good many other people, but they aren’t judgemental about issues like drug taking. They don’t act as policemen by calling the police in response to any drug use they encounter. Instead, they ask those involved to go somewhere else. In turn, the police don’t ask the wardens for intelligence on such matters. The result of this strategy is that the wardens are able to move drug users off the stairwells. Now, the drug dealers don’t even go into the estates until well past midnight. Progress is definitely being made.”
Recruitment and training issues
As in West Lancashire, recruitment and training have been central planks in making the scheme a success. The Corps wardens have been drawn from the very areas they patrol – a policy with the benefit of providing valuable local knowledge on estates in the Borough, which often resemble a rabbit warren and can make for an otherwise intimidating environment.
Selection procedures also included an acknowledgement of the need to recruit wardens who are young enough to identify with youths in the area, yet old enough to possess a sufficient degree of maturity to cope with the situations they face. Accordingly, the wardens are in their late 20s/early 30s. It hasn’t all been plain sailing, though. Two wardens left the scheme early on, one because of an inability to communicate, the other for having an unsuitable attitude (interestingly, this stemmed from the person viewing the role as being similar to that of a traditional security officer).
Training for the Bethnal Green Angels involved all three of the project partners, comprising five days’ induction at The Corps’ London hq, plus ten days on site at the Tower Hamlets council offices. Additional training liaison was carried out with the police.
The training programme focused on customer service, conflict management, communication skills, Health and Safety issues, cultural awareness, powers of arrest and the use of ‘reasonable force’, observation skills, drug awareness and personal safety, crime prevention and basic first aid.
As part of a recognised need for the wardens to fit in with their surroundings, it was decided that their uniforms should consist of standard polo shirts, casual shoes and anorak. As Patrick Dealtry explains, the benefits of blending in on the estates have other practical advantages.
“The wardens are streetwise, know the areas they work in and know how to get themselves out of tight spots,” said Dealtry. “When out on patrol, one of the wardens had a supermarket trolley thrown down at him from the tenth floor of one of the housing blocks. It landed only a few feet away. Behaviour like that isn’t the norm, but that’s what they’re up against.”
According to Dealtry, recruitment for the scheme isn’t a problem. “The wardens are often followed around by younger residents who ask them how they might get involved,” he added.
“Following on from this, the important element about the Bethnal Green Angels is that they don’t see their role as ‘just a job’. Rather, they view it as a way of putting something back into their local community. They identify with the youths in the area, and try and help them overcome their problems in any way they can.”
The future for warden schemes
The British Security Industry Association’s formation of its new Police Support and Public Services Section underscores its belief in the future of warden schemes and Community Support Officers. BSIA chief executive David Dickinson recently stated: “Security companies can work with the police, and work for the police, but they can never replace the police” (‘Trade talks’, SMT, March 2002, pp20-24).
In the near future, Dickinson believes that the serious issue of funding for community warden schemes must be addressed. “At present,” said Dickinson, “many of these schemes are conducted on a pilot or trial basis. We need time for trust and mutual respect to develop between all those parties involved. Now, longer term outcomes are being expected from short-term schemes, which is unrealistic.”
The Corps’ Patrick Dealtry endorses Dickinson’s sentiments, adding that the crime displacement effect of warden schemes on neighbouring localities is another issue that must be confronted sooner rather than later. To date, Tower Hamlets Council has paid out around GB pound 100,000 for the Bethnal Green scheme, with remaining financing courtesy of central Government grants.
“Unfortunately, I have grave doubts as to whether the Bethnal Green Angels scheme will continue in its present form in the longer term,” stated Dealtry. “The local authority will probably carry it forward, but using in-house staff because that would reduce the costs.”
Legion’s Robbie Calder also sounds a note of caution. “We’re prepared to reduce our margins for the sake of gaining quality, longer term business. However, we’re not prepared to cut our margins if that business is only going to be on a short-term basis”.
Nonetheless, Calder concludes that Legion’s experience thus far has been a positive one. “Warden schemes are not the panacea to end all security ills, nor will they completely reduce the fear of crime in our communities,” urges Calder. “However, if they’re operated in an open partnership with the local authority and the police, they’ll go some way towards addressing those concerns. They’re also clear proof that such work is well within the capabilities of companies in the private security industry.”
