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Building strong, safe and attractive communities: Guidance for submissions
Annex 4: Protocols between the police and the managing agents of warden schemes
The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and the Scottish Executive recommend that the managing agents of Community Warden schemes establish local agreements or protocols with the police on the operation of warden schemes. (Such agreements should be in addition to the establishment of Neighbourhood Compacts as set out in Section 9.)
ACPOS and the Scottish Executive have produced the following guidelines for the broad topics managing agents of warden schemes should consider when drawing up protocols or agreements. Managing agents or the police at local level may wish to add additional elements to the agreement depending on the exact nature of schemes.
These guidelines have been drawn up primarily for warden schemes with a focus on crime prevention or anti-social behaviour. Schemes with a more explicit focus on environmental issues should also liaise with the local police to ensure that appropriate operational arrangements are in place and any local agreements linked to such schemes may cover many of the same issues.
1. Measures should be in place to ensure that staff used to carry out the role of wardens are of the right calibre
- Selection and recruitment procedures should comply with equal opportunities legislation.
- Staff should be suitably vetted, using the services of Disclosure Scotland, as appropriate.
- Training provided to wardens should comply with guidance set out by the Scottish Executive (see Annex 5).
- Wardens should be supervised by a named individual.
- Details of the complaints and disciplinary procedures for dealing with complaints made by either a member of the public or another employee should be made available.
2. Wardens and their vehicles should be clearly identifiable and seen as distinct from those of the police
3. The role and function of the warden scheme should be made clear
- The functions of the scheme should be detailed within the agreement. This should include both the general aim and detail as to what the wardens will and will not do.
4. The location and times of the scheme's patrols should be clearly defined
- The area within which the scheme is operating, its patrols and the shift pattern staff will be working, should be included in the protocol.
5. Lines of communication between the scheme and the police should be clearly understood together with systems in place to enable exchange of information which may be of benefit to both the scheme and the police
This should include:
- The communication system to be used by the wardens (e.g. airwave/link via radio to CCTV/ mobile phone, etc.).
- Procedures in the case of an emergency.
- What information will be shared by both the police and the warden scheme, recognising the need to comply with data protection and human rights legislation.
- How that information will be shared both in relation to frequency and systems (e.g. via weekly tasking and co-ordination meetings, faxed daily list of stolen vehicles, etc.)
- Who is responsible for providing this information?
6. Regular liaison should take place between the scheme and the police
- The protocol should include what arrangements are in place for regular liaison at all levels with named individuals and frequency of contact. It should also indicate the management structure of the scheme and how it reports to a steering group/joint management group.
7. The local protocol should be signed by a senior police officer and the Senior Manager of the warden scheme and should be reviewed on an annual basis
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