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

Wardens have been introduced in Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) delivering clean and safe improvements and acting as meeters and greeters in the same way as American Safety Ambassadors. In some parts of the country wardens are working very closely with police as part of the new safer neighbourhood teams whilst in other areas park wardens and heritage wardens have developed within the warden family.

There has also been much good work to introduce junior and youth wardens in order to foster good citizenship and to encourage young people to consider wardening as a worthwhile career. Some warden schemes may now wish to introduce volunteer wardens as a further development of the initiative. This guidance should assist with that development.

Why volunteer wardens?

Volunteer wardens should not replace salaried wardens but work alongside them.

They can provide extra visibility through their uniformed presence and offer an opportunity to recruit people from the community in which the warden service operates. Volunteers can be of all ages but involving young people, particularly as volunteer wardens has many advantages. The Government’s ‘Youth Green Paper’, provides strong encouragement for young people to volunteer within their own communities. In addition there is much discussion across Government and in the media about respect, young people and anti-social behaviour. Young volunteer wardens would be well placed to encourage respect amongst young people, older people and across all sections of the community. They would model positive behaviour countering the criticism that is often heard about youth nuisance and young people only being associated with negative messages and anti–social behaviour.

Volunteer wardens can be a source for recruiting salaried wardens.

Volunteer wardens can help make links with hard to reach groups like some BME communities, older residents at sheltered housing or clusters of retirement properties if the volunteer is of that age.

Also, see Recruiting volunteer wardens for advice on this topic.