A police chief warned today that extra police community support officers would not be a direct replacement for the army of street wardens in Bradford and Keighley whose jobs have been axed by Bradford Council.

The surprise move, to save £350,000, was agreed by the ruling Conservative group at the Council's annual budget meeting on March 1.

Afterwards, the Council said the district was investing in 62 new PCSOs which would enable the 22-strong group of street wardens to be disbanded, adding that Bradford and Keighley would benefit from the "strong presence and investment".

But Bradford city centre police inspector Steve Baker said: "Getting rid of the wardens is going to be a large loss for the city centre. It's false economy.

"Their function in the last four years has been instrumental in helping reduce crime in Bradford city centre."

Insp Baker said 20 PCSOs would come into the Bradford South policing division, of which six might be allocated to the city centre but they could be deployed anywhere, unlike wardens who always operated in the centre.

"Even if we get six PCSOs, they might not be deployed in what we see as the immediate city centre. They could be in estates around the city centre or at a crime scene or all sorts of things," said Insp Baker.

Bradford Councillor Clive Richardson, (Con, Thornton and Allerton), who is vice-chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Authority, said: "The city centre inspector is entitled to his view, but I don't see it as false economy.

"There were 22 wardens and there are 62 PCSOs coming in, so I don't see the difficulty.

"I expect the street wardens to be encouraged to apply for jobs as PCSOs, so it could be the same people patrolling up and down North Parade and other parts of the city centre.

"The main difference will be that there will be one uniform, with no confusion over who has the power to do what."

He said there was no prospect of city centre traders being abandoned and added that the Council could influence where the new PCSOs would be deployed.

He said the Council paid 30 per cent of the cost of PCSOs but 100 per cent of the cost of street wardens. But the outcry over the controversial decision has reached fever pitch.

Letters have been pouring in to the Telegraph & Argus from traders who fear the move will give the "green light" for shoplifters, drunks and beggars to return to the streets.

In the letters, which have also been sent to Council leader, Councillor Kris Hopkins, objectors say the wardens have boosted the fight against shoplifting, nuisance behaviour and littering in the four years since their introduction.

Two street wardens were first on the scene of a robbery at the Universal Express Travel Agents, in Morley Street, where PC Sharon Beshenivsky was murdered and her colleague PC Teresa Milburn, injured by armed robbers.

And two weeks ago, on February 22, a pair of wardens pursued an Eastern European woman through the city centre after she was alleged to have snatched purses from two elderly women near the Oastler Centre. They caught the woman near Broadway and detained her until police arrived.

Maureen Bentley, manager of Everything But The Cook, in North Parade, Bradford, said: "Putting the wardens in is one of the best things they have ever done, so to take them away is a backward step. It undoes all the hard work."

Karen Kayley, who works in the Lawkholme area of Keighley, said she was "horrified" to hear the warden service was to be cut.

She said: "As a woman I find it very scary to drive around there but when the wardens came on line things started to change. Although they have no powers, as such, they have certainly made a difference."

Irene Priestley, of Caldene Avenue, Low Moor, said: "As crime rises in a given area, PCSOs will be re-deployed to that area leaving the city centre to pre-warden days of high crime, cider drinkers and beggars everywhere."

Jean Smith, assistant manager at Thorntons, in Market Street, Bradford, said customers had noticed the improvement since wardens were introduced and were now coming back to shop in Bradford rather than travelling to neighbouring towns.

She said the removal of wardens would be a "green light" to drunks and beggars.

Staff at the Virgin Megastore, in Tyrrel Street, Bradford, said wardens had been first on hand when crime took place, while the Yorkshire Linen Company, in John Street, Bradford, said the Council's decision was "short-sighted."

Terry Patton, branch secretary of the GMB union, said the Council's comment about 62 new PCSOs coming on line was a smoke-screen to mask the loss of the wardens.

"It's a nonsense to say the PCSOs will provide the same level of cover - it's no cover at all," said Mr Patton.

Mary Frame, of Bradford Chamber of Trade, said members of the group were very disappointed because they felt that the wardens had been an asset.

Jo Miller, Bradford Council's deputy chief executive, said: "We know that people are concerned about what is happening and we will be responding to everyone individually who contacts us about this matter.

"There will be consultation with staff and partners. Currently there are different services providing different things and we are simply bringing these together into a unified service.

"There will be another 62 PCSOs on the street from next month alongside the existing 68 PCSOs. The street wardens are funded from Council tax. The PCSOs are funded through the Home Office and Neighbourhood Renewal Funding."

The wardens are set to meet Council managers at Bradford City Hall on Friday to discuss the situation.

'A punch in the teeth'

Yesterday afternoon, this Council-run electronic information board in Centenary Square, Bradford, was displaying the message: "City centre wardens - making Bradford a safer and cleaner place to be."

Councillor Ian Greenwood, leader of Bradford Labour group, said: "The fact that message is being displayed says it all about this controlling group. One hand doesn't know what the other is doing.

"The street wardens are walking round fearing for their jobs and when they see that it's a real punch in the teeth for them."

He said the Labour group would propose that funding for the wardens should be put back into the budget at the next full Council meeting on March 27, with an initial one-year funding provision from reserves.

  • Start or join a debate on this issue in our online forum - Click here