Anti-social behaviour wardens work to tackle most affected areas in Swindon

The impact of the new wardens in Swindon were highlighted by Wiltshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson, and Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Partnerships, Councillor Jim Grant.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) secured £1m of Anti-Social Behaviour Hotspot funding from the Home Office and made £180,000 available to Swindon Borough Council to employ the wardens to deal with ASB in the most affected areas of the town.

The wardens, who started in June, regularly patrol Park North, Park South, Walcot East, Old Town and Faringdon Road, after statistical analysis by Wiltshire Police identified the areas where ASB and serious violence are the most problematic in the town. They operate in both the day and into the early hours of the mornings especially at weekends.

As a result of the ASB Hotspot funding, increased police patrols have also been introduced.

Mr Wilkinson said: “One of my priorities is to reduce anti-social behaviour and serious violence, and through using funding like this and working with our partners, we can make our communities a safer place to live and work

“ASB is something which affects many of our residents, and it can be a gateway to more serious criminality for those who are involved in it.

“By working closely with Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Police, we are already starting to see the benefits the wardens are bringing to the town.

“We now have to build on the work of the wardens and our police officers by identifying the root causes of ASB, and offer solutions such as detached youth work or out of court resolutions.”

Whilst the ASB Wardens don’t have any powers of arrest, they are all fully SIA licensed and are equipped with body-worn cameras. The team are directed by SBC’s ASB Team who have enforcement powers to tackle ASB.

The wardens work closely with local Neighbourhood Policing Teams and share intelligence and information where appropriate.

Councillor Jim Grant, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Partnerships, said: “We know from the many conversations we have had with local residents that anti-social behaviour is one of the key issues they would like to see addressed in their neighbourhoods.

“We have already taken positive action working with the Police and Crime Commissioner to clamp down on this kind of activity by using wardens and extra police officers in the town centre, and we recently spent time in Eldene speaking to residents about how we could improve their safety and wellbeing where they live.

“These new neighbourhood wardens will help us reach parts of the town where there are known pockets of anti-social behaviour and will work closely with our ASB team who have specific powers to address anti-social behaviour. We are also looking at ways we can deploy additional wardens across the town to deal with other issues that residents have raised with us.”