Traffic wardens are being used as community support officers to help fight
crime in a new pilot scheme in Lancashire.
Lancashire Constabulary drafted them into the scheme as community wardens
because illegal parking in the county is set to be decriminalised and they
faced an uncertain future.
Six wardens were given one month’s extensive retraining and deployed in
October under the guidance of a police trainer.
In this pilot scheme the community wardens have no police powers but are
directly responsible to the police rather than the local authorities.
They have a distinctive uniform and are designed to be the eyes of the
police in the community.
Victor Robinson, HR manager for Lancashire Police, said the wardens were
used in a crime reduction strategy, and helped ease the burden on the force.
"Lots of people still dial 999 for things like noisy neighbours and the
wardens can take the burden away from the police by helping out in community
issues.
"They also deal with vandalism and juvenile nuisance problems and our
research shows that people in the community want them there," he said.
"For many years staff have dealt with members of the public in
confrontational situations, now there is a need to take a much more
conciliatory and supportive approach."
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