City Guardians: Safe Streets in Westminster (London/UK)

The main aim of the City Guardians service is to reduce the effect that anti-social behaviour has on Westminster. The City Guardians work closely with schools and youth clubs to deal with anti-social behaviour and other issues that may arise. Guardians are involved in lunchtime activities with schools, patrols at school closing time and other diversionary activities.
City Guardians help to make public areas safer and cleaner by patrolling the street. They help to improve public confidence and safety by showing that public areas are cared for. Working with the Police and other Council staff, their visible presence can help reduce crime.
City Guardians also work to address environmental issues by reporting faulty street lights, dangers on the footpath, litter hotspots, graffiti, abandoned cars, commercial and residential waste. This proactive reporting means that areas patrolled by the City Guardians have issues dealt with earlier and more effectively, with businesses and residents noticing the difference in these quality of life issues.
A large part of the job of a City Guardian is to interact with the local community. The Guardians get to know local people and understand their concerns. They work with youths to engage them in diversionary activities to reduce the levels of youth disorder. By doing this and helping with local events, they become part of the community. This level of engagement leads to the Guardians being passed information and intelligence that other agencies do not have access to, and allows them to deal with problems in new ways.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Westminster
• Council
• City
• Guardians
• London
• Crime
• Disorder
• Reduction
• Environment
• safety