Accreditation Scheme
Wish your staff could help reduce crime and disorder?
Now they can.
Dropping litter, fly-posting and graffiti are just a few
examples of anti-social behaviour we all wish we could control in
our towns and villages.
Thanks to a national scheme, certain organisations in the county
are being given the power to do just that.
About the scheme
The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme
(
CSAS
)
allows our Chief Constable Jim Barker McCardle to accredit staff of
organisations throughout Essex with powers to tackle graffiti,
litter, abandoned cars and anti-social behaviour.
The idea is that public, private and voluntary
sector organisations whose staff contribute to community safety
will be given the tools to make them more effective in their
efforts to reduce crime and disorder.
Organisations with staff
who play an active role in safeguarding our communities such as
council street wardens, shopping centre security staff and sports
stadium personnel can seek accreditation.
Once accredited, they’ll be authorised to exercise powers
appropriate to their roles. These could include powers to
confiscate alcohol and cigarettes from young people, issue fixed
penalty notices for dog fouling, littering and graffiti and require
the removal of an abandoned vehicle.
Accredited people can also issue penalty notices for knowingly
raising a false alarm with the fire brigade, consuming alcohol in a
public place and acting in a way likely to cause harassment, alarm
or distress. They do not however have the power to detain or
arrest.
The scheme is proving a
success with the local councils, shopping centres and housing
organisations already taking part.
Accreditation is awarded to employees by the Chief Constable but
before this can happen they will be vetted, interviewed and asked
to complete a training programme culminating in an exam.
If successful, they are issued with a national accreditation
badge by the Home Office and a card identifying them, their role
and their powers to the public.
Organisations currently taking part in the scheme include:
- Basildon, Braintree and Castlepoint Councils
- Festival Leisure
- High Chelmer Shopping Centre
- Southend Hospital
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