In our April issue we featured ‘the other licences’ – police accreditation schemes, whereby SIA-licensed private security firms among others can seek community safety accreditation from police forces.
In April we looked at the Durham and Cleveland joint scheme. Here, we look at a shire county.
Seven employees of East Herts District Council have been given powers by the chief constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary to tackle a range of issues including anti-social behaviour and the removal of abandoned cars.
The powers are part of Hertfordshire’s Community Safety Accreditation Scheme, launched in November 2004. The members of staff were presented with certificates, ID cards and cards displaying their new powers at a ceremony at EHDC’s offices in Bishop’s Stortford in March.
Supt Julia Wortley, Deputy Commander for the Constabulary’s Eastern Area presented the certificates on behalf of Chief Constable Frank Whiteley. She said: “We warmly welcome our colleagues from East Herts District Council into the ‘extended police family’. This positive step advances the close working partnership which already exists in East Hertfordshire between police and the local authority. Together we are taking innovative action to tackle low level anti social behaviour and improve a sense of community safety’. We hope that the awarding of these powers will help to enhance our intelligence networks and provide further reassurance to the communities of East Herts complementing the work carried out by police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).”
Rachel Stopard, East Herts Council executive director, said: "We’re delighted to be taking part in this initiative as it fits very well with our priority to improve people’s feelings of safety. Having staff who are out and about each day looking out for issues that impact on people’s sense of safety is really important. This initiative is an important part of sharing critical information within the crime and disorder reduction partnership, which is already working well to build greater community safety within East Herts."
The people whith the powers are: Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator Julie Lawrence, Animal Warden Mike Abbey, Revenue Assistants John Sibthorp and Martin Szaj and Monitoring Officers Robert Catchpole, Brian Leighton and Rowan Perrin. Before they were given the powers the EHDC staff were vetted. They carry identity cards.
Background
In November 2004, five local authorities in the county gained accredited status: Broxbourne and Dacorum borough councils; and East Herts, St Albans and Welwyn Hatfield district councils. In 2005, the police force says, the aim is to bring in other organisations such as hospitals, universities, sports stadia stewards, housing assocaitions – and private security firms.
In Broxbourne, for instance, new fencing and entry gates have secured the Rosedale sports ground. Council and Home Office cash met the £29,000 cost. Similarly, gates and fencing costing £10,000, funded in part from the public purse, were put up at St Mary’s Church, Cheshunt, to combat trespassing and some vandalism of headstones. With Home Office funding, CCTV is being rolled out to the borough’s sheltered housing, whereby residents can view visitors at the entrance on their TV sets. Between 2000 and 2004 Broxbourne issued some 46 ABCs.
Dacorum’s Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Team recently had its remit extended across the Borough.
Previously the team, part of the council’s Housing service, was only able to deal with anti-social behaviour that involved Council tenants or Council properties. Thanks to a successful bid for extra Government funding, they are now able to take referrals across the Borough, regardless of whether it involves a council property or not. The team has seen 70 Acceptable Behaviour Contracts signed – ABCs being voluntary contracts with people who are showing signs of unacceptable behaviour.
St Albans City and District Council, meanwhile, says that a lot of anti-social behaviour happens because it is allowed to happen. Drug dealing, harassment on any grounds (be it race, gender, sexual orientation or any other grounds), nuisance or vandalism will not be tolerated, the council says. The council points to joint working with the police on patrols, drug raids and with information exchange taking place daily. A part time anti-social behaviour caseworker helps with evidence gathering. Most of the action the council takes is in the form of visits and interviews, which resolve most cases, the council says.
Welwyn Hatfield Community Safety Partnership staff have done truant-catching patrols – a police officer, a Herts County Council education welfare officer and Welwyn Hatfield Council street wardens (employed last year). Christine Adey, Chair of the Welwyn Hatfield Community Safety Partnership says: “Residents and businesses in Welwyn Hatfield tell us Community Safety is a high priority. Anti-social behaviour is a particular concern. Youngsters outside of school can sometimes be responsible for incidents of anti social behaviour and are vulnerable to getting involved in more serious crime. Truancy patrols can help reduce these incidents by returning youngsters to school.”
In Hertford in the district, meanwhile, a local authority owned car park has gained the safer parking scheme accreditation. CCTV which is linked up to a control centre in Stevenage. The project cost £52,500 with £15,000 from Home Office funding and the remainder from East Herts Council’s capital budget. The money was used to install new cameras, lighting, signs, and lines in the St Andrew Street car park.
