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CHAPTER SIX MANAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIP WORKING

Introduction

6.1 As with the previous Chapter, this one draws evidence from a number of sources to explore issues around scheme management and partnership working. The sources used include the initial analysis of the funding applications, the case study visits and the wardens' and managers' surveys. These sources are indicated throughout the text.

Management

6.2 At a strategic level, 29 of the 32 schemes were managed by the local authority. The majority of the schemes come under the Community Services or Combined Services directorates, as generally these sections of the council have the responsibility for community safety. Three schemes are managed by Grampian Police: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray. Here the warden service sits within the Neighbourhood and Partnerships division of the Police. The wardens are employed, and line managed, by the police and are intended to complement the community policing approach. This gives the schemes a clear crime and antisocial behaviour focus.

6.3 All of the wardens' case study schemes, with the exception of Aberdeen, are managed and delivered by local authorities (Table 3.2 gives details of management for the case study schemes). Generally, the schemes are based within wider antisocial behaviour initiatives which take a holistic and co-ordinated approach to resolving antisocial behaviour problems. These include:-

• The Antisocial Investigation Teams ( ASIT) in South Lanarkshire;
• The Social Protection Team ( SPT) in Perth; and
• The Problem Solving Unit ( PSU) in Inverclyde.

In most schemes, line management came through an antisocial behaviour co-ordinator or antisocial behaviour manager. The person in this role would generally also be in charge of other antisocial behaviour initiatives.

6.4 The relationship between police and the wardens in Aberdeen is unique in terms of our case study areas, in that this scheme is the only one to be situated within a police force. Not only are wardens line managed by Grampian Police but they are also based within police stations. It was felt this proximity allowed the activities of the wardens to be better co-ordinated with the "total community policing" ¹⁷ approach adopted by Grampian.

6.5 From the local authority scheme manager's point of view things have worked well with this arrangement, whilst the local authority is broadly happy with its relationship with the police and the performance of the wardens. By contrast, the police were less satisfied with managing the wardens. They suggested that there was a lack of focus on what the wardens should be doing. For example, were they another tier of policing, with powers, or the "eyes and ears" of the community? This seems to need clarification. In addition, some wardens felt their management by the police alienated them from the council and led to their not being utilised effectively by other partners. Given this, it would seem that the benefits of police management are mixed and there are still issues in Aberdeen that need to be resolved.

Key Partners

6.6 The range of partners engaged with was not uniform across all case study schemes, reflecting different priorities and local needs. The most common partners were:-

• Other council departments such as housing, environment and youth services;
• The police;
• Fire and rescue services;
• Elected members; and
• Community and voluntary organisations.

The issues involved in partnership working with these key players will now be explored, starting with other departments within the local authority ¹⁸.

Relationships with Other Local Authority Departments

6.7 The evidence from the case studies is that the relationship between the warden schemes and other council departments is largely informal. In the main, partnership working is based on verbal agreements rather than written protocols, although this may be changing (Paragraph 6.12). As with the relationships elsewhere, the establishment of joint working has taken time to develop.

6.8 At the outset, the main concern from other council departments was that there would be increased pressure on resources. This was something highlighted in the case studies and in the scheme managers' surveys. Many departments felt they would be unable to cope with the increase in demand for services brought on by the upsurge in referrals by wardens. Indeed, the cleansing department in Aberdeen City Council used up its entire budget for repairing vandalism in the first few months of the wardens' scheme and had to become more selective about the calls it responded to. This has also been an issue in East Renfrewshire where the environmental team has not been able to deal with the increased demands for their service since the warden scheme began. Here attempts have been made to appease local residents through a number of joint clean up initiatives.

6.9 However, several scheme managers felt that other council departments were now beginning to understand how the wardens could help in managing resources more effectively. In Perth, for example, wardens stated that by early identification of environmental issues they helped to save costs. This realisation was said to have improved working between local authority departments and the wardens.

6.10 Confusion existed in some schemes around responsibilities, particularly in relation to environmental issues. For example, in Edinburgh it was unclear whether the Community Safety Concierges or environmental services had responsibility for the monitoring of back courts. However, discussions with the wardens across the case study areas identified a flexible and willing attitude in dealing with environmental problems. Where they had the power to do so, and where health and safety regulations would allow, wardens would address environmental problems on their own, for example clearing up rubbish.

6.11 Utilisation of wardens by council departments generally appeared to be improving over time. Examples included:-

• Housing officers taking wardens along when visiting tenants. This was not only in relation to problem tenants. Wardens would also accompany officers on visits to the elderly or other vulnerable people;
• In East Renfrewshire, wardens worked on the "Clean Close Initiative" in conjunction with the cleansing department;
• Building services in Inverclyde request the wardens' assistance when attending high risk call-outs in problem areas;
• Social workers in Dundee used the wardens to establish relations with young people referred to them. Where wardens had a good relationship with a young person, social workers would use them to help "break the ice" between themselves and the new referral; and
• Joint initiatives between youth workers and community wardens were common in several case study areas, with wardens attending youth clubs and accompanying youngsters on trips.

6.12 Slow response times from council departments in addressing reported issues were cited as a source of frustration by some wardens, an issue identified in the wardens' survey. However, it was agreed that overall response times had improved since the schemes' inception. Service Level Agreements ( SLAs) were being considered as a solution to this problem by several councils, in effect placing the wardens-departmental relationship on a more formal footing. This was most developed in East Renfrewshire where SLAs exist with some departments, including housing, and are currently being developed with others. Despite this, there was limited evidence to suggest the response times outlined in the SLAs were being met.

6.13 Co-location of Antisocial Behaviour units (of which wardens are generally a part) alongside relevant council departments was seen as a way of improving partnership working. An example of this occurred in Perth, where the scheme's manager and administration have recently moved into the same office as the antisocial noise team. This was seen as important in offering a more integrated service to the public. Co-location was also felt to encourage informal links between the wardens and partners. As the majority of wardens referrals go through the scheme manager, this was seen as an important component in promoting partnership working. Several other schemes also have plans to co-locate their community warden schemes alongside partner services, subject to continuing funding.

The Wardens' Views of the Relationships with Council Departments

6.14 Respondents to the wardens' survey were asked to comment on their relationships with other council departments and state how these had changed over time. Generally relationships were viewed positively, with only 19% of respondents indicating that they were "Poor" or "Very Poor" (Table 6.1). The majority (42%) said that their relationship with the council was "Good".

TABLE 6.1 How Would You Describe Your Relationships with Other Council Departments?

6.15 This positive picture of relationships was reinforced when the wardens were asked how relationships had changed over their time as a warden. Half said that these relationships had "Improved" with only 5% stating that they had become "Worse" (Table 6.2).

TABLE 6.2 In Your Time as a Warden/Concierge How Have These How Relationships Changed?

The Scheme Managers' Views of the Relationships with Council Departments

6.16 Although the managers had initial concerns, all who responded to the survey now described their relationships with other council departments as "Good" or "Excellent". The main factors that had led to improvements were:-

• Council departments becoming more adept at handling the incoming reports from wardens;
• Awareness of wardens improving in council departments, so that requests for action are now seen as the norm as opposed to the exception;
• Staff in departments, and in the warden schemes, becoming more familiar with each other and therefore more willing to respond to each others requests; and
• Better co-operation on initiatives, with agreement between warden schemes and council departments on which is going to take the lead on new initiatives.

6.17 Despite the overall improvement in internal council relationships, managers still reported some tensions between themselves and other departments. For example, in Inverclyde there was said to be a tension between the warden scheme and Social Work. This was based on social workers feeling that wardens were stigmatising young people by helping to place them on Acceptable Behaviour Contracts ( ABC) as part of the use of restorative warnings (see Paragraph 10.52 for further details). The scheme manager, however, argues that this is a preventative measure, designed to halt a young person's possible move into the criminal justice system.

6.18 The warden scheme in Orkney was unique in terms of the case study areas in that wardens were employed by the Environmental Health ( EH) department, but were line managed by the Community Safety team. This was as EH ran the first year long pilot warden scheme prior to the full funding for wardens becoming available from the Executive. Although this arrangement was reported to cause some minor day-to-day management difficulties it also resulted in better co-ordination of activities and communications between EH and the wardens.

6.19 Overall the picture that emerges from the various sources of evidence is that relationships between the wardens and other council departments are good and have improved since the warden schemes were set up. It remains to be seen if the move towards formalisation, as seen in the use of SLAs, will change these relationships.

Links with the Police

6.20 Table 6.3 categorises police involvement based on the original funding applications. In terms of day-to-day operations, just about all schemes had either developed, or were in the process of developing, protocols between the council and the police on how the wardens and police would interface and how information would be shared. In some cases, agreements had been reached that calls from community wardens to the police would be treated as a priority.

6.21 Virtually all schemes claimed to have strong links with the police in their area. For example, in Tayside the police were responsible for the development and delivery of the some of the training for the community warden schemes within the force's area: Dundee City, Angus and Perth and Kinross. Similarly, in Orkney the police were involved in the recruitment and training of wardens.

6.22 In Tayside, and many other areas, the police were also involved in the development of the warden schemes. This involved such things as identifying areas with high incidences of crime and/or anti social behaviour and, in some cases, identifying beats for the wardens to patrol based on local knowledge.

TABLE 6.3 Police Involvement in Warden Schemes

Notes:

6.23 The police are also generally involved in steering groups or management groups of various schemes as well as on community safety groups and partnerships. In the case of the Grampian schemes, which are managed by the police, officers from the relevant council departments attend police tasking meetings so that they have an involvement in management of the wardens. At a more detailed level, some schemes have gone as far as specifying modes and frequency of contact between police and wardens.

Police-Warden Protocols

6.24 Based on the analysis of the 24 month templates it seems that, of the 32 schemes:-

• Twenty two (69%) had produced a police-warden protocol;
• A further 6 (19%) have either produced a protocol that is awaiting sign off, or were expecting their protocols to be completed by September 2006 ¹⁹;
• Of the remaining 4 schemes, 2 had informal protocols in place (Dumfries and Galloway (North West) and South Ayrshire), whilst the remaining 2 had made good progress. One of these schemes, Shetland Isles, expects its protocol to be completed by 1 December 2007. West Dunbartonshire does not give an expected completion date.

However, several of these protocols were with the antisocial behaviour unit of the council rather than specifically with the community wardens.

6.25 In the main, protocols with the police covered 2 main aspects:-

• Intelligence sharing; and
• Co-ordination of activities.

6.26 Protocols on intelligence sharing constituted an agreement between police and wardens to share relevant information with each other. Examples of this included:-

• Police having full access to the wardens' nightly logs;
• Regular meetings between the police and the wardens to exchange intelligence on developments in the patrol areas; and
• Informal contact between the police and the wardens on nightly patrols.

6.27 Co-ordination of activities between police and wardens was something that happened in all of the case study areas. For example, if a particular antisocial behaviour "hotspot" had been identified by police, they would often ask the wardens to target this on their nightly patrols as a preventative measure. Likewise, if wardens noticed regular criminal activity, which they do not have the powers to deal with (such as drug dealing), they would inform the police who would then initiate surveillance. For example, in South Lanarkshire information provided by the wardens proved to be the final piece of evidence needed by the police to get a warrant to search premises for drugs. The search was ultimately successful and a number of arrests were made.

6.28 Although protocols had been written to provide a framework for joint working, it was found that several schemes had well developed operational structures which went beyond the terms of the protocol. Examples of these were:-

• In South Lanarkshire, wardens' activities were based on tactical assessments, which identified crime "hotspots", prepared by the police. This resulted in the wardens taking a pro-active, rather than a reactive, approach to issue prevention;
• Perth and Kinross held fortnightly multi-agency tasking meetings which involved the police, the Antisocial Behaviour team (of which wardens are part), and other council departments. These meetings allowed activities to be co-ordinated for the next 2 weeks;
• Similarly, in Dundee police, wardens and a range of other partners attended monthly Community Intelligence Unit ( CIU) liaison meetings. On a daily basis the police held an internal briefing session, which senior wardens often attended. Uncensored copies of the reports of these meeting are made available to the wardens;
• Police held weekly intelligence briefings with wardens in Inverclyde. In addition, joint police and wardens' surgeries were held in one of the scheme areas; and
• In East Renfrewshire, the police were regularly involved in the wardens' daily briefings.

6.29 The police-warden protocols appeared to have been of benefit in 2 main ways:

• Formalising the relationship had helped to ease any tensions and clarify roles and responsibilities; and
• The protocol established a forum whereby the police and wardens could share information and target resources on areas of concern.

6.30 However, although formal protocols were important, informal contact between police and community wardens was felt to be as useful as the formal structures. Informal contact between police and wardens in Orkney, for example, was described as particularly good due to wardens taking their shift breaks in Kirkwall police station. Regular contact and sharing of information was viewed as building up trust on a personal level, which meant that police were more likely to respond to requests from wardens. Despite this, it was recognised by several police representatives that further work was needed in educating the wider police force as to the benefits of wardens, particularly with those officers who had limited contact with the warden service. This is something that the wardens' survey reinforces.

The Wardens' Views of the Relationships with the Police

6.31 Relationships with the police were viewed less positively by the wardens surveyed than were relationships with council departments (Table 6.4). A fifth of respondents said that they had a "Poor" or "Very Poor" relationship with the police. However 78% said that their relationship was "Good", "Very Good" or "Excellent". To some extent the views of the wardens contrast with the views of their managers as expressed in the 24 month templates, who all made positive comments about their relationships with the police.

TABLE 6.4 Wardens' Descriptions of Their Relationships with the Police

6.32 Although a greater percentage of respondents felt that relationships with the Police were not "Good" (compared to relationships with other council departments) 56% felt that they had "Improved" over their time as a warden (Table 6.5).

TABLE 6.5 In Your Time as a Warden/Concierge How Have These How Relationships Changed?

6.33 These problems were reflected in the case study work, where the majority of schemes reported some initial difficulties in their relationships with the police. These were mainly centred on a misunderstanding as to the wardens' roles and some scepticism about what contribution they could make. However, these concerns quickly dissipated when wardens started to demonstrate the ways in which they could complement police activities.

The Benefits of the Warden-Police Relationship

6.34 The key benefit of the wardens, cited in discussions with the police during the case study visits, was their value in gathering intelligence. The nightly presence of wardens on the streets, and their regular interaction with local youths and residents, meant that wardens often picked up information which the police did not. Furthermore, it was felt that, as wardens did not have any enforcement powers, individuals were more willing to share information with them. This information could then be logged by wardens and passed on to the police. This may need to be considered, given the move to give the wardens enforcement powers in some areas (see Paragraph 15.33).

6.35 What is clear, however, is that the wardens' main impact was upon community policing rather than on the wider force. Regular contact and sharing of intelligence had contributed to the forging of close bonds at the local level. This had led to wardens being used as an effective extra resource in several areas.

6.36 The value of wardens as "professional witnesses" came up consistently in the fieldwork. Numerous examples were given where wardens had arrived at the scene of a serious disturbance before the police, largely as they were based within the area. The wardens were then able to monitor the situation and take notes, which could then be passed onto the police and used as evidence in court. Wardens could also attend court and provide oral evidence if required. In general, the police valued this assistance as often the incident could be over before they arrive on the scene.

6.37 On the whole, the relationship between police and community wardens was said to have improved over time and had followed the same trend as that of other services, namely initial scepticism progressing to a positive working relationship. This reflected:-

• The wardens demonstrating capability; and
• The police understanding how they could use wardens more effectively.

This understanding, and appreciation, of the wardens' capabilities can be seen from the increasing use, in some areas, of the wardens at times of high demand for police services, such as Friday and Saturday nights. In the past, police resource constraints, and prioritisation of calls, meant that they were often unable to attend low level antisocial behaviour incidents. Now they can refer these to wardens and have the confidence they will be handled effectively.

6.38 However, in some areas, relationships with the police were good from the start. In Dundee, for example, the scheme manager felt that the relationship with the police had started well and had continued to strengthen. The strength of the strategic community safety partnership that existed in Dundee prior to the warden scheme was said to be central to this.

6.39 Overall the initial opposition to wardens, which had existed in some areas, appears to have subsided as wardens have demonstrated their value to police officers. Those consulted during the case study visits agreed that there were still improvements to be made, particularly in the area of intelligence sharing. However, the general feeling from both sides was that things were moving in the right direction, with both parties gradually appreciating the roles, responsibilities and limitations of the other.

Fire and Rescue

6.40 Relationships with the fire and rescue service were generally felt to be more straightforward than those with the police. On the whole, scheme managers felt they had not been subject to the same initial scepticism from fire and rescue as they were from the police and other council departments. Accordingly, in the scheme areas where fire was a problem, wardens and fire and rescue had worked in partnership from the start.

6.41 Fire raising was, unlike antisocial behaviour, not prevalent in all of the case study areas. It was, therefore, unsurprising that relationships were less developed than with the police with only 3 areas (Dundee, East Renfrewshire and Edinburgh) having formal protocols in place.

6.42 Fire and rescue input tended to be strategic rather than operational, with representatives participating in multi-agency tasking groups. This allowed the service to keep abreast of new developments and communicate new safety initiatives to the schemes' managers. Recently, however, Dundee has secured a closer working relationship with the fire service following the secondment of a Community Fire Safety Officer to the Community Safety Team for one day a week.

6.43 Where fire raising was an issue, the main incidents reported were secondary fires, for example wheelie bins, and attacks on fire crews. The wardens in East Renfrewshire were sometimes called upon by their local fire crew to keep watch over their equipment whilst fighting a fire and to deter attacks on the crew. Inverclyde wardens had helped the fire and rescue service to set-up a system to reduce attacks in problem areas. In addition, the service in Inverclyde was also using wardens to help tackle "pattern fires", with the wardens now patrolling specific fire "hotspot" areas to deter potential arsonists.

6.44 Discussions with fire and rescue representatives highlighted the changing focus of the service. In the past the fire service was primarily reactive. Education on fire safety is now a priority and it was recognised that wardens have a role to play in this. In Aberdeen, for example, the wardens had carried out leaflet drops for the service to disseminate information on fire safety. In Edinburgh the fire service engaged with young people through an initiative known as the "Cool Down Crew". This involved young people learning more about fire safety through participation in community based projects or activities. The support of the wardens in engaging young people had been crucial to getting this initiative off the ground, according to the fire service, with the relationships the wardens had built with local youngsters being used as leverage in this type of initiative.

6.45 Although functional relationships between fire and rescue and the warden schemes were in place in all case study areas, some were more advanced than others. For example:-

• The wardens in Aberdeen work with the fire and rescue service on the Gramps area initiative. This is part of the Torry Total Communities approach, where the wardens and fire service work with other local partners to reduce the incidence of "pattern fires" in the Tullos Hill and Kincorth Nature Reserve. The outcome was that the cost of fire raising at the Gramps had been reduced from £37,000 for two weeks in 2005 to £200 for the same period in 2006; and
• In Dundee and South Lanarkshire the wardens worked with the fire service in the lead up to Bonfire Night, to identify and remove bonfires from potentially dangerous locations (such as against flats). This had resulted in less call outs for the service on Bonfire Night and was judged by both partners to be a success. This is now likely to be repeated on an annual basis.

6.46 Across the other case study areas the vast majority of contact with the fire service was at management level, and in most areas wardens and fire crews were not well known to each other. The view was that this would change as there were more visits to fire stations and greater participation in joint initiatives.

Political Relationships

6.47 All scheme managers surveyed felt that local politicians now saw the wardens as "a good thing". This assertion is supported by our own consultations with elected members during the case study visits. These found that all elected members consulted were very much in favour of community wardens, to the point where councillors who did not have wardens in their own wards were lobbying to have them introduced.

6.48 However, the support of local politicians was not always there at the start. This was the case in Dundee, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. Politicians in these areas initially felt that the money spent on wardens would be better spent on extra police. However, they have now been won over as the wardens continually demonstrate their value to the community. The schemes' managers in these areas feel the early negativity was based on a lack of knowledge about the service. Good communication with politicians was seen as key to changing these perceptions.

6.49 Wardens schemes in each of the case study areas are now using local politicians to their advantage. This ranges from using them to lobby for changes to the shift patterns in Aberdeen, to councillors inviting wardens along to their monthly surgeries in Inverclyde.

Conclusions

6.50 The overall picture that emerges is that relationships with the various partner agencies have improved over time. Evidence from a variety of sources, interviews and surveys, tells the same story. These improvements reflect developing understanding of the role of the wardens and a realisation that they can add value to other services. This is not to suggest that there are no problems. However, these seem to be relatively insignificant when set alongside of the generally positive views expressed.

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