Town centre recruits ‘guardians’ to tackle anti-social behaviour
HIGH-PROFILE ‘evening guardians’ have been recruited in Solihull to offer a reassuring presence in the town centre on Friday and Saturday nights.
The two guardians patrol Solihull town centre between 8pm1am as part of a project launched by the local Business Improvement District (BID).
Solihull BID also employs a team of ‘town hosts’ to welcome visitors and support to businesses during the day. Both guardians are trained to diffuse incidents using safe restraining techniques. The duo wear lapel video cameras, and are connected to relevant radio and CCTV networks.
A report is prepared at the end of every weekend which details incidents. This is shared with the BID and police to help research crime hot-spots.
Melanie Palmer, BID director, said: “We want to send out the message that we will not tolerate anti-social behaviour or any form of crime in the town centre and we are delighted to introduce the BID Evening Guardians to help support this.
“Feedback from our bars and restaurants has been overwhelmingly positive and they love the fact that there are regular faces on the street to co-ordinate information between the venues, direct the public to events and to generally assist in the safety of the area at night.
“They are working closely with the Local Policing team and other relevant organisations to ensure a strong partnership approach to the safety of our town centre.”
The guardians are hired from security experts iSec Security.