COMMUNITY SAFETY
Paw
patrol
Charles is an English springer spaniel and a drug detection dog.
He is part of a team patrolling our parks, open spaces and the
council’s housing estates, helping to keep residents safe.
T
he Parkguard team of officers
and dogs has been working
with Ealing Council and Ealing
Police since 2012 – spotting
potential trouble, referring vulnerable
people to support services and gathering
information on anti-social behaviour and
crime for the police and council to use.
They can also enforce the council’s public
space protection orders (PSPOs) that are
in force in various parts of the
borough to keep public
areas safe.
Joe Lazone,
Parkguard’s west
London services
manager, said:
“The patrol officers
take great pride
in patrolling the
borough and enjoy it. The
combination of parks, open
spaces and estates we cover
means they encounter a wide
range of issues and each
patrol can be very different to the
last. We are very well received by the
public and are regularly stopped and
thanked for keeping those areas safe.”
On any given day, there could be
up to four officers out on patrol. They
have used their dogs over the last year
to help the police and council carry
out 582 searches for drugs and 356
searches for offensive weapons.
Joe said: “Over the years, we have
completed thousands of weapon
sweeps, removed hundreds
of knives, located numerous
drug cultivators.
“But I would say nearly
75% of our work consists
of harm-reduction
activities such as
homelessness
referrals,
welfare checks
on vulnerable
individuals,
referrals to drug
at
full stor y
Read the
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ealingne
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/paw-patr
features
and alcohol
services and
other safeguarding
matters. We have referred hundreds of
people into support services and offered
reassurance to thousands of residents.”
‘VERY USEFUL LAYER OF SUPPORT’
Councillor Joanna Camadoo,
the council’s cabinet member for
community safety and inclusion, said:
“Parkguard patrols add a very useful
and welcome layer of support to the
police and the council by providing an
additional presence in the community.
As well as increasing public
reassurance and building relationships,
the patrols have proven adept at
disrupting anti-social behaviour and
gathering intelligence. Alongside
enforcing the law, they deliver valuable
support with wider community issues
and referring homeless people to
outreach services is just one of the very
human elements of their work.”
around ealing April/May 2019
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