Fears over future of Derry warden scheme as PSNI say they can no longer fund it due to budget cuts

Fears have been expressed about the future of a community warden scheme in Derry.

The Community Safety Warden Scheme was launched several years ago and the wardens have responsibility for addressing a range of issues, including anti-social behaviour, in various parts of the city.

One of the main funders of the project is the PSNI.

However, local police chiefs have revealed that because of budgetary constraints, they will not be able to support the warden scheme in the future.

The PSNI has said that their funding for the scheme in the 2017/18 financial year will be reduced by 50%, with the likelihood that no funding will be in place to support the Derry warden scheme from 2018 onwards.

The proposed cutbacks in funding emerged during a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Health and Community committee in Strabane on Thursday.

At the meeting, the financial situation facing the Derry Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) was outlined.

The PCSP, which reports to the local council, is responsible for managing a range of initiatives, including the Community Safety Warden Scheme.

A council report brought before Thursday’s meeting stated that the local council has allocated a budget of £302,890 to support the PCSP for the delivery of its work in 2017/18.

The report said that this allocation had secured partnership funding of £700,513 in previous financial years.

The £700,513 partnership funding was made up of the following contributions: Department of Justice/NI Policing Board (£479,692); PSNI (£112,495); Department for Communities (£40,326); Northern Ireland Housing Executive (£25,000); University of Ulster at Magee (£25,000); and The Executive Office (£18,000).

Of this £700,513, a total of £140,321 was spent on the Community Safety Warden Scheme which included a contribution of £49,995 from the PSNI.

The PSNI funding will be reduced to around £25,000 next year and looks set to disappear from the end of the 2017/18 financial year.

The council report said that the PSNI had indicated it would be ‘extremely unlikely’ they would be able to support the warden scheme from 2018.

The report stated: “The reduction in funding support in 2017/18 from PSNI is £24,998 and this will impact on the service that can be delivered by the wardens resulting in a reduction in service hours and/or the number of wardens provided.

“Given that the PSNI is likely to withdraw all support for the scheme from April 2018 a review of the service will be undertaken to ensure that a financially viable provision can continue to be delivered.”

SDLP councillor Shauna Cusack described the news about the reduction in the PSNI’s financial support for the warden scheme as ‘really alarming’.

“The scheme needs more resources instead of less and this is a real slap in the teeth,” she said.

“The true impact of these cuts will be felt in our streets and in our communities.”

At the meeting, local councillors agreed to a proposal that council officers explore alternative sources of funding to sustain the Community Safety Warden Scheme.