Wardens ...

Check the following courses, designed to support warden schemes and individual wardens.

Accredited Core Skills

A Level 2 Certificate which gives street-based patrolling staff the theory, knowledge and practical skills to enable them to perform their role...more

A job offer can be made subject to checks such as references, medical information and disclosure details. It is at this stage that organisations registered with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) should seek disclosure information if necessary. Applicants should be given the opportunity, if necessary, to explain why any information received during these checks contradicts information provided by them as part of any post-interview process.

The suitability for employment of a person with a criminal record will depend upon the nature of the job and details and circumstances of any convictions. An assessment of the applicant’s skills, experience and conviction circumstances needs to be weighed against the risk assessment criteria for the job. It should be remembered that employing people on the basis of information provided on an application form and in a short interview, is never risk free, whether or not they have a criminal record. Staff responsible for recruitment need to identify what risks might be involved and what precautions need to be put in place to provide satisfactory safeguards.

Health and safety risk assessment:

It is important that wardens' role and functions are subject to health and safety risk assessment. You may want to use Health and Safety experts to carry out any initial assessments. The managing authority will have H&S procedures and may have an officer who can assist you. You also have to consider health and safety within your warden training programme and take steps to develop a risk assessment culture amongst your warden team. For some job functions, such as handling graffiti removal equipment, using cleaning materials, a written procedure will be required. This should be included in the Standard Operating Procedures.A key risk assessment issue is whether wardens should operate on their own or in pairs. Many wardens operate both singly and in pairs dependent on what they are doing, where and when.

The deployment of wardens needs to be considered on an ongoing basis, taking account of: The specific function the warden is going to carry out;The location and any attendant risks;The time of day;The level of back-up and ease of accessing this.

Other key health and safety issues include: Booking on and off procedures; Warden safety check-ins;Access to management back up and support.