Community wardens

As part of the Council's commitment to tackling anti social behaviour, we applied to the Scottish Executive for funding for Community Warden posts.   
 
Community Wardens work closely with the specific communities in which they are based to meet local needs, to improve the quality of life and safety and security of the area and to provide support, advice and information to the community. They provide a highly visible presence in these communities, and they are able to monitor and respond to particular issues and provide advice and information on available services and to vulnerable residents.   In Ross and Cromarty and Inverness, they also have a role in crime prevention.
 
In the Highlands, Community Wardens cover:  

• Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
  
• Alness
• Milnafua and Kirkside
• Coulpark, Firhill and Westford
• Invergordon
• South Lodge
• Wick
• Pulteneytown
  
• Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
  
• Inverness
• Dalneigh
• Hilton
• Merkinch
  
• Ross, Skye and Lochaber
  
• Fort William
• Caol
• Plantation
• Kinlochleven 

How the Scheme Works
 
Community Wardens work for the whole community in the area they cover.  However, their work is geographically restricted to that area only.  To contact them and ask for their assistance with problems you are facing:

• You can approach them informally while they are patrolling the streets.
• You can raise issues through your Community Council, Residents or Tenants Association or your local Councillor.
• You can contact the Community Wardens through the Community Warden contacts  or Service Points.

 What do the Wardens become involved in?

• Combating fly tipping, graffiti and dog fouling
• Identifying and reporting incidents of vandalism
• Working with young people
• Visiting vulnerable residents
• Establishing links with local schools
• Working in partnership with resident associations and community councils
• Becoming involved in environmental improvements and projects
• Carrying out regular patrols of the community 

Community Wardens are a highly visible and reassuring presence in the communities they serve. They undertake regular uniformed patrols, some of which take place out of hours. They can have a significant impact upon the incidence of fly-tipping, graffiti and abandoned cars and are involved with identifying and reporting instances of vandalism, ensuring that remedial action is taken more quickly. Community Wardens can also have an important role in chasing up residents with unsightly gardens and ensuring that they are maintained satisfactorily in future.
 
The wardens become well known to the children of the areas they serve and work hard to encourage young people to have more respect for their surroundings, particularly in terms of graffiti and littering. They also establish useful links with local schools.