Balham Neighbourhood Wardens to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour

From March the Neighbourhood Wardens will patrol the streets of Balham. The Wardens will provide a range of support for residents, from fly-tipping enforcement to tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB). They will also work in partnership with local businesses, providing reassurance and an easier way to report issues.

This pilot will provide residents with a more visible community presence, rooted in their neighbourhood and could be rolled out to other parts of the borough.

Through our Balham Forum, residents have raised the need for a more visible, uniformed presence on the street. Our Neighbourhood Wardens are a direct response to resident engagement, as we seek to have them shape their services.

The wardens will provide an easy contact point for local residents who can get help with council services, support for vulnerable residents such as rough sleepers, and feedback on areas that need greater focus.

Tackling anti-social behaviour will be a priority for the wardens. The new patrols will use their own enforcement powers, and work closely with other agencies, to tackle it.

They will also be a reassuring presence on the streets – talking to residents and businesses to offer advice and to link them up with sources of help if they need them.

The Neighbourhood Wardens will patrol four days a week, focusing on peak times such as the afternoon school run and evenings, and on known hotspots.

We will continue to listen to residents through the Balham Forum and community drop-ins to get feedback on the success of the pilot and whether it should be rolled out to other town centres.

Simon Hogg, Leader of Wandsworth Council said: “Safer neighbourhoods is a top priority for the Council. Cuts to police funding over the last decade mean they have to focus on more serious crime, but we know that low-level nuisances like graffiti, noise and other anti-social behaviour have a big impact on residents’ lives.

“Wandsworth is the safest inner London borough, but we are determined that local people should always feel safe out on the streets.”

Value for money is at the heart of everything we do. The Wardens will be paid for using funds we collect from property developers.

The Neighbourhood Wardens are part of a package of measures to help local people feel safer, including increased CCTV coverage, better lighting and repairing broken street lights, removing flytipping and adding graffiti to our 7 Days guarantee, ensuring that local people can easily report problems that will then be swiftly dealt with.

The rollout is subject to decision at Cabinet on 23 February.