07 April 2008
Caerphilly County Borough Council's team of Community Safety Wardens are vital to improving the "streetscene" of the county borough, which is one of the Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership's new strategic priority areas.
The Community Safety Wardens, as part of their day-to-day duties are responsible for reporting community safety or environmental issues that local residents have, to the relevant local authority department, and could include:
- Incidents/hazards
- Defects
- Fly-tipping
- Dog fouling
- Graffiti
- Litter
- Vandalism
Recently, the Community Safety Wardens were at the forefront of a clean-up initiative in and around the Tredomen and Ystrad Mynach areas of the county borough.
It had been noted on a routine patrol recently that there was a significant amount of litter around the railway lines in Ystrad Mynach, which in addition to being extremely unsightly, could be a safety hazard in such a location. The Community Safety Warden on duty immediately reported this to Network Rail.
Similarly, on the same patrol, it was noted that there was a considerable amount of offensive graffiti in the vicinity of the cycle path in Tredomen, which can clearly be seen from the brand new council offices. Again, this was immediately reported to the relevant department, in this case, Caerphilly Council's Cleansing Department.
Both areas were promptly attended to by the necessary agencies. Youngsters undertaking Community Reparation Work with the local Youth Offending Service, in partnership with Caerphilly Council were involved in the removal of the graffiti, using equipment which was recently funded by the Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership.
Community Safety Warden, Denzil Lawrence said, "Although this was merely a routine patrol, this example does illustrate the positive impact that the wardens have in improving our community on a day to day basis. Both graffiti and litter create a negative impression of an area and can contribute to local residents' fear of crime.
I would like to express my thanks to both Network Rail and Caerphilly Council's Cleansing Department for such a swift response to my reporting the incidents."
The Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership is a multi agency organisation whose five statutory bodies are Caerphilly County Borough Council, Gwent Police, Caerphilly Teaching Local Health Board, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Gwent Police Authority. It works to combat crime and disorder, anti social behaviour and the fear of crime in the local area.
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