Community traffic warden initiative rolled out in Fife

In support of its commitment to ‘Being there for the Community’, Fife Constabulary has reviewed and developed the role of traffic wardens who, while maintaining their traditional functions of traffic and parking control, will now support police colleagues in more specific areas of community safety.

According to the force, the new role of community traffic warden will harness a valuable resource, enhancing community engagement and building community intelligence so that resources are directed towards tackling the real issues affecting communities.

New duties for community traffic wardens will include assisting with door-to-door inquiries, distributing crime-reduction literature and gathering and recording community intelligence.

Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Barker explained: “The development of the role of community traffic wardens stems from a review carried out by the force in 2008 into the role of traffic wardens and the introduction of our single division structure in September 2009.

“Traffic wardens are very much part of the policing family and while community traffic wardens will still deal with traffic management and parking duties, their new role is about creating greater opportunities to improve accessibility by deploying them in areas where there is an identified need to promote crime prevention advice and provide the public with more opportunities to raise their concerns.

“Community traffic wardens are very much about building on success creating safer neighbourhoods and taking police closer to our communities, while making best use of all our resources.”

Alex Blyth, community traffic warden supervisor, said: “I am very much looking forward to the introduction of the new role of community traffic warden. The expectation is for the wardens to work closer with the local communities and hopefully go some way to help the communities with various issues that they may have.”