Southwark (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Southwark Council launches night-time patrols with private security firms to tackle anti-social behaviour and improve safety across the borough.
Squads of about 10 uniformed officers will be sent to areas of the borough with the highest rates of crime and antisocial behavior for the patrols, which will take place seven evenings a week from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The program, which will be handled for the first nine months by community-focused security firm Kingdom Services Limited, will support the council’s current Community Warden staff of thirty-two officers.
Southwark Council is now consulting on a policy that would give council officials the authority to impose fines on individuals who engage in antisocial behavior, as part of a larger campaign to combat illegal conduct.
The borough also has benefited from an increase in the number of neighbourhood officers patrolling its streets, when, just last month, dozens of new officers were deployed across Met neighbourhoods teams to vacant roles in Peckham and Walworth.
Councillor Natasha Ennin, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Neighbourhoods at Southwark Council, said:
“We know that feeling safe is just as important as being safe, and this new night-time patrol service will help deliver both.
By deploying teams where they are most needed, we’re making sure our communities feel supported and protected. Alongside our community wardens, the new service will bring extra reassurance and visibility, helping Southwark remain a safe place to live, work and visit.”
How will the private patrols coordinate with community wardens?
The private security teams and community wardens have continual information sharing regarding crime trends, anti-social behaviour, and hotspot locations to enable joint patrols and interventions.
Joint meetings and briefings are held to discuss rising issues, share information about responses, and align the patrols efforts so the patrols do not duplicate the hard work done by the wardens.
The community wardens focus mostly on supporting residents, advocacy, signposting, tackling environmental issues such as fly-tipping, and building relationships locally, while the private security patrols focus on visible enforcement and deterrence, which is heavily vaccine reliant during the evening.