Prescott announces cash boost for street wardens
“Nobody should be disadvantaged by where they live” – that’s the Deputy Prime Minister’s reasoning behind today’s announcement of a £19m investment in street wardens, aimed at cutting crime in some of the UK’s most deprived areas.
The money will allow the 1,000 wardens who are already working in vulnerable communities to continue helping local people through their highly-visible presence on the streets. The funding will now run out in 2005 and 2006.
Wardens in some communities – including Kirklees in Yorkshire, Hackney, Derby and Swansea – have helped to cut recorded crime by up to a third over the last year.
A further £2m will increase the number of neighbourhood management schemes from 20 to 30. The schemes join up the efforts of the public, private, community and voluntary sectors to help local residents with problems such as crime, unemployment, housing, health and the environment.
Speaking during a visit to Hastings, where wardens and neighbourhood management are already working closely together, John Prescott said: “Making neighbourhoods clean and safe benefits everybody. Already, we can see the impact that wardens and neighbourhood management have in helping residents to revitalise their neighbourhoods and reclaim their streets.”
£77m has already been invested in wardens and neighbourhood management, as part of a £3.5bn national regeneration strategy.
But critics have claimed that the warden scheme is policing on the cheap, and that the real way to tackle crime is to have more officers on the beat.
The Government has rejected such accusations noting that the street wardens complement the existing police service by liasing with communities and tackling on some of the low-level crime such as graffiti and anti-social behaviour.
Mr. Prescott added: “In the long-term, we will only have sustainable communities if mainstream services are improved. I know there is much more to do to wipe out post-code poverty, but we are creating the conditions for communities to thrive. Today’s announcement shows that we will keep working to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged.”
