COMMUNITY Safety Wardens have been introduced to tackle anti-social behaviour across Basildon's estates, town centres, and our parks.

The wardens will be carrying out any necessary actions in relation to ASB, including undertaking high visibility patrols in identified locations, as well as carrying out general high visibility patrols across target areas in Basildon.

They will also proactively identify community issues in the local area and share information with relevant partners to promote a multi-agency problem-solving response.

They will be there for residents in the community to act as a source of advice and guidance in relation to matters of ASB, and they will be engaging with the local community to build positive relationships across problem areas to discourage and reduce crime. Their powers include being able to issue verbal and written warnings and Fixed Penalty Notices and can provide professional witness statements for any incidents that occur in the community.

The new teams of wardens will also be tackling the behaviour covered by Basildon Council's recently implemented Public Spaces Protection Order, a legal order to tackle ASB that covers specific restricted areas of the borough.

Cllr Andrew Baggott, Leader of Basildon Council and Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Public Order said: "Community safety is a top priority for me. I know it's something that residents feel strongly about and it's something we're doing our best to tackle with the introduction of our PSPO and our new Community Safety Wardens.

"We want our residents to feel as safe as possible wherever they are in our borough, and that's why our wardens will work within our estates as well as our more public town centre and park areas. Their introduction isn't a gimmick – our wardens will be active and visible from early afternoon into the late night seven days a week so they can really make a difference each day.

"They won't just be there to tackle crime and ASB directly, their remit includes the presence and the positive relationships they will build by engaging with the community, which will act as a deterrent to crime as well as improve community cohesion.

"They will also work closely with Safer Basildon and our partners within it, attending daily briefings as well as weekly meetings with council officers, to determine prioritisation as well as reflect and learn to make sure the service is the best it can be for the benefit of our borough"

The new wardens will be working in pairs, patrolling across the borough seven days a week, operating between the hours of 2pm-2am. They will be wearing live Halo cameras and will be tracked via GPS to be able to best deploy wardens to areas and potential incidents.

A PSPO for the borough was introduced on 1 April 2022 until midnight on 31 March 2025. The terms of the order include banning car cruising in Festival Leisure Park, Mayflower Retail Park, and Pitsea Town Centre, as well as the use of any motor vehicle without reasonable excuse or the express permission of the council in 15 of the borough's parks including Gloucester Park, Lake Meadows, and Northlands Park.

The PSPO also bans the possession of any open container of alcohol in Basildon and Pitsea town centres and the consumption of alcohol, or use of illegal drugs or psychoactive substances anywhere in the borough where it is causing ASB. As well as prohibiting the use of pony and traps in Cranfield Park, Northlands Park, and Wickford Barn Hall Recreation Ground.