New Perthshire Community Warden teams working to make a difference

Nov 24 2009 by Alison Lowson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

THE new Community Warden teams are making a huge difference to life in Perth, Rattray and North Muirton.

That’s the view expressed in a report to the Community Safety Committee tomorrow which says that the wardens have been welcomed by communities.

In Muirton and North Muirton, after some initial difficulties, the wardens have worked to build positive relationships with young people of the area.

The logging of incidents of youth disorder, under-age drinking and drug misuse, along with intelligence collated by wardens and their community safety partners, has helped put together police action plans to tackle problems in the area.

The close working relationship between wardens and the police has continued to expand, the report says. Wardens now accompany police officers to the homes of young people involved in street disorder offences, and joint initiatives have been developed to tackle problems such as drug misuse in common closes.

In Rattray, the police have tasked wardens with dealing with anti-social behaviour complaints, thereby saving on police resources.

The Rattray wardens have been focussing on working hard to gain the trust and confidence of the community. While the number of incidents reported to wardens in Rattray is much lower than in the other two warden-patrolled areas, this is not a current concern as each area has to be treated individually.

Community Safety vice-convener, Councillor Elspeth Maclachlan, said: “The indications are that the new community wardens have been welcomed by local people and will, in time, improve and enhance the living standards in those communities.

“Statistics will be gathered on issues like youth annoyance, environmental problems, drug and alcohol problems and vandalism in both communities, which will allow the wardens to focus their work on particular issues that are affecting local residents.

“The success of the local Community Wardens in Letham and Hillyland speaks for itself. It is very satisfying therefore that the new teams in Muirton, North Muirton and Rattray are being embraced by residents.”