Private security guards, neighbourhood wardens and community support police officers should be coordinated by regional policing boards, according to a report from social research body the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The report, based on research in Yorkshire and Humberside and published on Wednesday, found that more than half the housing agencies surveyed had got a lot more worried about crime and disorder in recent years. Three out of four believed the police should coordinate and accredit the work of other security providers and patrols.

But professor Adam Crawford, who wrote the report, said: "The role of police as an accreditor and competitor for community policing contracts places them in an ambiguous position and raises potential conflicts of interest.

"That is why we recommend the introduction of regional policing boards."

The JRF report included findings from a national survey of private security companies, which identified residential areas as their greatest area of potential growth over the next five years.

However, only one in 10 of the police divisional commanders surveyed said they had valuable relationships with private security guards.

Source

Housing Today

Postscript

A Study of Visible Security Patrols in Residential Areas is available online at www.jrf.org.uk