New street wardens tackling anti-social behaviour in Swindon
They're patrolling five hotspot areas
New anti-social behaviour wardens are targeting the most affected areas in Swindon in a crackdown on the issue.
The wardens have been made possible thanks to cash from the Police and Crime Commissioner, after a million pounds of Anti-Social Behaviour Hotspot funding was secured from the Home Office.
£180,000 of that money was then made available to Swindon Borough Council to employ the wardens.
The wardens are regularly patrolling Park North, Park South, Walcot East, Old Town and Faringdon Road, following analysis by Wiltshire Police identifying hotspot areas for anti-social behaviour (ASB).
They operate in both the day and into the early hours of the mornings, especially at weekends.
The ASB funding has also led to increased police patrols.
PCC Philip 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.”
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.”