Town Centre ASB on the decrease

The figure, taken from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency Ninis website, covers the Castle Demesne ward and it is thought by civic leaders that an important contributory factor in the reduction has been the introduction of Town Centre Wardens.

Operational since October, 2011, the wardens have a varied role within the town centre including reporting incidents of anti-social behaviour and liaising with local retailers.

They provide a high profile presence in the area and liaise with police in relation to retail crime/anti social behaviour and general crime problems identified.

Wardens also aim to ensure the Town Centre environment meets an ‘open for business’ standard of cleanliness and overall appearance, as well as provide a high standard of assistance to the public, especially visitors to the town.

Vice Chairperson of the PCSP, Wendy Kerr says: “We feel the Warden Scheme has been an excellent initiative and to-date they have provided assistance to the public on 1440 occasions, dealt with graffiti on 22 occasions, monitored retail criminals on 434 occasions and have dealt with litter offences on 192 occasions.”

Most recently, a Yellow Card Warning Scheme for littering was launched by the Mayor, Alderman PJ McAvoy, whereby wardens issue warning cards to offenders.

Details are kept on a database for three months and then deleted if no further offences are detected. In the first month of the scheme,, 14 yellow cards were issued to litter offenders.