News Analysis: Wardens' mission to crack down on crime

10:42am Wednesday 19th September 2001

Four neighbourhood wardens will take to the Grahame Park streets this week in a bid to reduce crime and the fear of crime on the estate. IAN LLOYD and JULIAN HILLS look at their chances of success

Ask most people for their perception of Grahame Park and the response is likely to be pretty grim.

A haven for criminals who exploit the estate's dark alleyways and secluded stairwells would be one of the strongest criticisms.

Residents remain proud of their estate, but this is a viewpoint many of them would not argue with.

"The trouble with Grahame Park is that most of the people who are causing trouble come from outside the estate and do it in the hope of getting away quickly," said Eyo Nkume, chairman of the Grahame Park Residents' Association.

His opinions were born out last month when 12 suspected drug dealers on the estate were arrested and charged as part of the Metropolitan Police's Operation Amberjack.

It targeted dealers selling crack cocaine and heroin around The Concourse shopping area and surrounding stairwells and alleyways.

The majority of those arrested were from outside the borough and were suspected of trying to create or expand a market for drugs.

A regeneration project to improve the crime-friendly layout of the estate is already in the pipeline. And this week Barnet Council drafted in four neighbourhood wardens to patrol the streets in a two-year pilot scheme designed to drive out crime.

Legally the wardens can do no more than you or I.

They have no powers of police arrest and are encouraged just to observe and relay information to police.

But evidence suggests the schemes work. In Sedgefield, crime fell by more than a third between 1994 and 1997 after the introduction of a 'community force'.

Darlington Council's Neighbourhood Warden initiative was voted its most popular service in its first year of operation.

A spokesman for Sedgefield Council said the scheme of ten wardens, working over a 24-hour period, had been successful in tackling minor anti-social behaviour.

"Crime has gone down across the board in this area, and that gives a good indication of how successful the scheme is," he said. "The fear of crime has come down, as people have more confidence when they see the wardens about.

"They can give a better response to anti-social behaviour whereas police would give it a lower priority."

Paul Lamb, acting neighbourhood warden co-ordinator for the Grahame Park estate, said: "If you look outside this country to the Netherlands and the USA, there is obvious evidence that the schemes have been effective.

"There are a lot of schemes being set up at the moment in this country. Central Government believes neighbourhood wardens have a pivotal role in working towards neighbourhood renewal and regeneration."

Sergeant Brian Simmonds of Barnet Police, who helped co-ordinate the scheme, said: "You get wardens that are literally ambassadors for cities like in Boston, America. As you get off at Tube stations and you look lost, they will come and help you and make you feel more welcome.

"Other wardens are concentrated in problem housing estates and if you like they are 'super caretakers'. Our wardens are more general patrolling wardens."

A further six wardens have been introduced to patrol crime hotspots in Edgware, Burnt Oak and North Finchley town centres. A total of 33 will be working across the borough over the coming months.

Sgt Simmonds said the wardens would supplement, not replace police presence.

"They have got no additional powers. They have the powers of regular citizens but because they are in uniform they are much more visible, easily identifiable and a likely deterrent. They are trained to stand back, observe, obtain and report the best evidence."

The pay scale for wardens ranges from £19,230 to £21,177 and they will initially work on a rota basis between midday and 10pm, seven days a week. Problems they hope to eradicate include fly-posting, fly-tipping, vandalism and graffiti.

Successful candidates will have had two years' experience of working with vulnerable members of the community and liaising with agencies and voluntary groups.

Their two-week intensive training programme included work with the Metropolitan Police, learning how to record evidence and produce witness statements and brushing up on relevant legislation.

One warden, Maureen, who did not want her surname used, said: "I hope we can achieve safer streets in Barnet, improve the quality of life and help the police in reducing low level crime and anti-social behaviour."

For the residents, Mr Nkume said the scheme was a good idea in principle, but argued there needed to be more wardens working through the night to deter criminals from coming to the estate under the cover of darkness.

"It is a good thing to introduce, except there are not enough to cope with the situation here," he said. "Most of the problems that happen here take place after 10pm, so I don't think their hours of work are enough," he said.

He believes the wardens need to be available around the clock like the Darlington scheme to be effective.

Lyn Lansdale, Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator for Grahame Park, was a member of the panel that selected the wardens. She welcomed the initiative so long as the police presence on the estate did not diminish.

"We need to take a gentle approach," she said. "We don't want anybody going out with all guns blazing and upsetting everyone.

"They are not allowed to go into a situation where they can get badly hurt themselves, and I hope that will be really stressed to the police. We want full backup from the police. We need to make sure that once the wardens are set up, police resources will not disappear altogether."

Whether wardens with brightly-coloured uniforms and no legal powers of arrest will make an impact on ingrained problems such as drug dealing, racial tension and social isolation on the Grahame Park estate remains to be seen. It is the greatest challenge facing Barnet Council's latest community initiative.

If successful, it will serve as a template for similar schemes throughout the country.

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