In Bath, the city’s business improvement district (BID) City Marshals are to deliver half of Avon and Somerset Police’s planned ‘hotspot patrols’.
The Home Office provides funding nationally for such patrolling to police forces via the Hotspot Action Fund. Bath’s City Marshals, working through the Safe and Secure Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP), and since last autumn provided by the contractor Axien Security, were chosen as the partner agency to support the police with these patrols, starting from May 14.
The SIA-badged, blue and black uniformed marshals will be providing an extra 112 hours of patrols per month across the city centre; police will do the other half. Like similar hired patrols around the country, they’re there to deter crime, and provide reassurance for businesses and visitors. Hotspot patrols as defined by the College of Policing are high visibility in places with anti-social behaviour and violence. During the 2024-25 delivery period the City Marshals supported the police with extra patrols around four hotspots in the city centre.
Insp Graeme Hall at Avon and Somerset Police said: “Operation Haven provides a real opportunity for the Police in collaboration with our trusted partners at the Bath BID to provide a significant number of additional high visibility patrols targeting anti-social behaviour, serious violence and other crime which takes place in Bath City centre including shop theft which we recognise is a real concern for local business and communities. Bath BID’s City Marshals provide an invaluable service to Bath’s city centre, helping to create a secure retail environment for businesses but also providing reassurance to the public, particularly with the strong rapport they have built with many of Bath’s business owners.”
And Nick Bishop, Business Manager at Bath BID, said: “It’s crucial that businesses and local people feel secure and comfortable in Bath’s city centre. Whilst we are lucky to operate in a largely safe city, we know the strain that businesses are facing with an increase in shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. We also know that there are areas in Bath that would significantly benefit from the presence of uniformed patrols, not only to deter potential crime but also to provide reassurance to members of the public and our business community.
“We are really pleased to be able to support this initiative and honoured to have been chosen as a trusted partner by the police, who we have worked closely with for a number of years. Our City Marshals work exceptionally hard to keep our city safe and we look forward to seeing them on the streets more frequently, alongside our local police force.”
Bath’s marshals are due to patrol six hotspots as identified by police data; on days and times determined by a police patrol matrix.
In Leicester, city wardens and community safety officers have begun patrolling the city centre. First to raise awareness, then to enforce the new PSPO (public space protection order) covering the city centre inside the inner ring road. The red-uniformed officers spoke to hundreds of people in a month-long period of engagement and education, to address nuisance behaviour. In that initial month, the officers issued more than 100 verbal warnings about begging in the city centre. Officers also dealt with 49 unauthorised charity collections, 220 bike and scooter offences, 73 incidents of problem street drinking, 79 incidents of unauthorised amplification and 82 unpermitted structures, such as gazebos. From May 1, a breach of the PSPO can lead to a fixed penalty notice of £100, rising to £1,000 if prosecution leads to a conviction.
The city council points out that those found begging in the city centre have been signposted to services offering food and shelter, while those riding scooters and e-bikes have been given leaflets, advising them that illegal machines will be confiscated by the police under Operation Pedalfast.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “Every day for the past four weeks, our city wardens and community safety officers have been out on the streets, making sure that everyone using the city centre knows that nuisance behaviour will not be tolerated in Leicester. And the good news is, the message seems to be getting through.
“People are coming up to our officers to tell them that their presence is making a difference, and that problems associated with street drinking or begging, or the irresponsible use of e-bikes and scooters, appear to be receding. That sentiment is also reflected in the feedback I’ve received, and we’ve certainly noticed fewer complaints about the city centre.”
In York city centre, the BID has re-started riverside marshals, along the often busy King’s Staith. From early May to the end of summer, each Saturday and key bank holiday weekend, two SIA-badged marshals will be on duty from 12pm to 8pm, working closely with local door staff and York Rescue Boat to promote river safety and tackle anti-social behaviour. The public safety presence now in its fourth year grew out of the York Water Safety Group, which the BID sits on with North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, the police, and York Rescue Boat.
Carl Alsop, Operations Manager at York BID, said: “We’re pleased to bring the Riverside Marshal programme back to support York’s brilliant riverside businesses as we head into the busy summer period. We’d like to thank the York & North Yorkshire Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner for funding the programme.” York has the Purple Flag accreditation, to denote the city as a safe and well-managed destination.
Photo by Mark Rowe: street art, Leicester city centre.
