Minutes:
The Committee considered the following report:
“1.0 Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues
1.1 To update Members on the ongoing Static Park Warden initiative including its recent expansion into Falls Park, and to ask Members to approve an extension until the end of the financial year.
2.0 Recommendations
2.1 Members are asked to note the content of the report and approve an extension to March 2025.
3.0 Main report
Background
3.1 Members will be aware that at People and Communities Committee on 9th April 2024 (Appendix One) they received an update from officers on the ongoing Static Park Warden Pilot in place to reduce levels of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in a number of parks. At that time Committee agreed, subject to budget, ‘to extend the pilot until the end of the September 2024 and that Falls Park be included as an additional site for the pilot’.
Key Findings – Pilot Period to Date
3.2 The Pilot has now been operational for 13 months and as of mid-September 2024 we now have a full complement of nine Static Park Wardens working across the 4 Pilot sites. ASB reporting statistics for the Pilot are now available for 12 consecutive months from September 2023 through to end of August 2024 for Dunville Park, Pairc Nui Chollann and Woodvale Park, and for a total of three months (June-August 2024) for Falls Park.
3.3 At April’s Committee Members were advised that since the start of the Pilot there has been a 26% decrease in ASB incidences reported overall for the September 23 - February ‘24 ‘Pilot period’ at the 3 park sites (61) when compared to data for the same months in the previous year prior to the Pilot commencing (82).
3.4 Further data recorded over the past six months in the three original sites show continued positive overall trends as a result of the Pilot. This includes a slight increase in figures for ASB reports for the Woodvale Park site. For Falls Park, since its inclusion in the Pilot scheme, incidences of ASB over past 3 months (June - August) have decreased by 68% from 65 to 21 reports when compared to previous 3-month period before expansion of Pilot into the park site.
3.5 ASB reporting trend for the original three park sites over the past 6 months of the Pilot period when compared to previous 6mth (also with the Pilot period) were as follows:
3.6 Dunville Park- incidences of reported ASB over past 6 months (March- August 2024) have decreased by 93% from 14 to 1 report when compared to previous 6-month Pilot period. Pairc Nui Chollann – incidences of reported ASB over past 6 months (March- August 2024) have decreased by 10% from 48 to 43 reports when compared to previous 6-month Pilot period.
3.7 Woodvale Park - incidences of reported ASB over past 6 months (March- August 2024) have increased by 17% from 12 to 34 reports when compared to previous 6-month Pilot period.
3.8 Members should note that evening programming (midnight soccer and other diversionary activities) continue to take place with likely positive impacts on ASB at these locations; and that the Pilot continues to be supported by the Safer Neighbourhood Officers and the PSNI - with good working relationships in place ensuring improved response to ASB incidents at the sites.
3.9 With support from Continuous Improvement (CI), City and Neighbourhood Services Department are currently progressing a Park Warden review with focus on the requirements for/of the role, and that of the parallel SNO and Dog Warden functions. Over the coming months the findings from the Static Park Warden Pilot will feed into this review. This work is likely to take several months to progress and accordingly members are asked to approve an extension to the static warden pilot until March 2025.
Financial and Resource Implications
3.10 Should members agree to the extension it should be noted that the cost can be met from within existing CNS budgets.
Equality or Good Relations Implications /
Rural Needs Assessments
3.11 There are no Equality or Good Relations Implications /Rural Needs Assessments associated with this report.”
The Director of Neighbourhood Services answered several questions which had been raised by Members and the Committee noted the contents of the report and approved an extension to the scheme until 31 March 2025.
Supporting documents: