controversial service aims to make city safer and cleaner
Wardens will start patrolling today
Published:
Aberdeen’s new city wardens were due to start patrolling streets today as the controversial scheme gets up and running after a long delay.
The council service, which combines the roles of community wardens, parking patrollers and environmental wardens, was supposed to be launched last April but has been beset with problems.
A long-running dispute with trade unions, as well as recruitment difficulties, delayed its introduction, but the council said yesterday that the new service would make the city safer and cleaner.
High-visibility patrols will be carried out by the wardens from 7am to 10.30pm.
Parking and litter patrols which previously concentrated on the city centre will now be rolled out throughout Aberdeen.
Senior city warden Jim Barry said: “My colleagues and I are really looking forward to getting out and about in the communities and getting to know people there.
“We will make Aberdeen a nicer, safer and cleaner place to live and work.
“We want to communicate with the public and to find out where the problems are. We will take action to make things better.”
There will be 74 city wardens, including 12 senior wardens, although only 55 are in place after several community wardens and parking patrollers walked out amid concerns for their safety at night. A recruitment drive is under way to fill the remaining posts.
The new service was inspired by an Australian scheme which impressed councillors John Stewart and Neil Fletcher while on holiday Down Under.
Mr Stewart said: “I really am pleased to be welcoming this new, city-wide service, which will be so important in helping to establish links with local communities and make people feel more secure.”
Opposition Labour councillor Willie Young was concerned about the new service. “This is a disappointing step backwards for Aberdeen,” he said.
“Community wardens, while working for the police, were trusted by the community and I have grave concerns about the benefits to the public of this city warden scheme.”
Readers' Comments
Appalling that this is considered an essential service, and another reason why I am ashamed to be from Aberdeen. No doubt there'll be a line up of desperate teaching assistants applying for the remaining posts.
dee thorntpon
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You obviously have a bee in your bunnet about the council and their decisions as am I with some of them but "ashamed to be from Aberdeen" I am proud to say I come from the granite city.
David Paterson
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Councillors should at least know the meaning of the word "police". We should not DILUTE the Power of one and CONFUSE the power of the other. The wardens are Policing - let the Police do the work required to cut down illegal/unsociable behaviour - let wardens collect the easy money from the non-criminals who are (mostly) parking in the right place but for just a bit too long. Lets hope the "inspired and impressed" Fletcher/Stewart Australian visit wasn't paid for by us too!?
Fred Black
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Its obvious that councillors John Stewart and Neil Fletcher dont have any ideas of their own.If they did this idea would have never been given any credability.If they prefer Australian ideas why dont they move there?
Stan Domeracki
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Hmm interesting subject this one! We already pay in our council tax for refuse collection. We already pay for road tax, which by the increasing number of pot holes in the city is not used on roads, and traffic wardens by definition should deal with traffic issues. Increasingly confused that we need another bureacratic tool which we appear to already have in place. Perhaps if these existing tools were used correctly, then our councillors wouldn't have to waste our tax money on another useless jaunt for duty free purposes. Disgusted,appalled and like another reader ashamed to be from Aberdeen.
Scott Lyon
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I used to be a cop in Grampian and am now in South Australia police near Adelaide. Haven't seen any of these want to be cops over here; in fact we don't even have specials. All police are full time paid members, and we have slighty more cops per person. We do however have parking wardens and lots of camera cars, both who's sole jobs are to collect revenue for the Govt. We also have better weather, great wine, great food, friendlier people, less crime, and the economic crisis is something we see on the tele. Why you all still there?
Craig Robertson
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