May 1, 2013 4.03 pm This story is over 130 months old

Funding cut for weekend evening wardens in Lincoln

Gone at weekends: Evening wardens will be less visible during nights out due to cuts in Lincoln BIG funding.

Lincoln BIG’s Evening Safety Wardens will only spend two days per week in the city centre due to cuts in funding for their services.

At present, the Evening Safety Wardens work in pairs four days per week, helping Lincolnshire Police patrol Lincoln streets at night.

Usually, they are out on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends to support fast food outlets, bus stops and taxi ranks around the High Street and provide a presence to deal with issues before they escalate.

Wardens wear yellow and blue reflective jackets and carry Lincoln BIG radios linked to the City of Council’s CCTV control room.

However, due to the withdrawal of funding from Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership, the wardens will be able to patrol on Tuesdays and Thursdays only.

‘Little impact on the city’

Lincoln BIG Chief Executive Matt Corrigan said: “The wardens play an important role in ensuring that the city is a great place to be in the evenings. They have helped Lincoln to achieve its Purple Flag status.

“We will be exploring their future reinstatement at weekends. In the meantime, we are assured that the police will be stepping up their city centre cover.”

A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson told The Lincolnite: “Policing will continue as normal and the change to street wardens is expected to have little impact on the city.

“Lincolnshire Police continue to have a fantastic relationship with the City Council, Street Pastors and licensees in terms of reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.”