The latest initiative from the Harrogate District Community Safety Partnership will see more ‘policing’ of the town centres.
In recent years, many towns and cities have become familiar with seeing agencies other than the police operating in the night time economy.
In the Harrogate district, a three-year grant from the Home Office is paying for a pool of four NightSafe Marshals, two of whom will be patrolling Harrogate town centre to support North Yorkshire Police on Friday and Saturday nights between 10.00 pm and 4.00 am when licensed premises are at their busiest.
NightSafe is the established brand name for the delivery of crime reduction schemes by the Harrogate District Community Safety Partnership.
Cllr Nick Brown, Cabinet Member for Public Protection and Rural Affairs for Harrogate Borough Council, says that North Yorkshire Police are a key member of the Community Safety Partnership and fully support this new scheme. He added: “These NightSafe Marshalls are not police. Their role is to support police officers, to provide a reassuring presence on the streets and to intervene when necessary at an early stage to prevent alcohol-related violence. Night Marshals have been used successfully in many town and city centres where they have been able to contribute to reductions in violence and anti-social behaviour.”
There may also be occasions when the NightSafe Marshals could be used at other times, such as Bank Holidays or when large sporting events are being televised. They could also be deployed to other areas of the district, such as Ripon or Knaresborough, for events that attract large crowds.
The NightSafe Marshals will have no power of arrest and will be directed by the police at all times. They will carry radio handsets which will link them to the CCTV control and other radio users such as door supervisors and the police. The NightSafe Marshals are employed by Professional Security in Leeds. The company was established in 2003 in the north of England and has grown rapidly. The company operates across the UK and has a staff base in excess of 2500 trained, accredited and licensed security personnel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is a NightSafe Marshal?
NightSafe Marshals are men and women employed to provide a patrol service in our town centres, generally during the late evenings and early hours when our licensed premises and clubs are busiest. They wear a uniform, which includes a high visibility reflective coat, and carry radio handsets, which link them to the CCTV control and other radio users such as door supervisors and the police. Their role is to support the police and to help the public, to provide a reassuring presence on the streets and to intervene when necessary at an early stage to prevent alcohol-related violence before it starts. NightSafe Marshals have been used successfully in many town and city centres across the country where they have contributed to marked reductions in the levels of violence and anti-social behaviour.
Q. How will I know who is a NightSafe Marshal?
All NightSafe Marshals wear a distinctive uniform so they are readily identifiable to the public. Those who will be working in the Harrogate district will wear a high visibility yellow and blue two-toned jacket bearing the designation “NightSafe MARSHAL” to front and rear, and navy blue baseball cap. Marshals must be carefully vetted, registered and accredited with the Security Industry Agency (SIA) and carry their identification badge at all times when on patrol. NightSafe is the established brand name for the delivery of crime reduction schemes by the Community Safety Partnership within Harrogate town centre.
Q. When and where will these NightSafe Marshals be used?
Two NightSafe Marshals will be deployed as a pair each Friday and Saturday night between the hours of 10.00pm and 4.00am, patrolling on foot in Harrogate’s town centre. There may however be additional occasions when they are used at other times, such as Bank Holidays or when large sporting events are being televised for example. They could also be deployed in other places within the district; Ripon for the races, or Knaresborough on the Bed Race Day might be potential opportunities to extend their service.
Q. Are they part of the police, or employed by the police?
No, NightSafe Marshals are not employed by North Yorkshire Police. Whilst North Yorkshire Police are a key member of the local Community Safety Partnership and fully support this new scheme, NightSafe Marshals are not part of the police service. NightSafe Marshals will however be briefed on duty by the police on each occasion they are to undertake their patrol. This is to allow them to be made aware of what other agencies, especially the police, consider they should be doing to make best use of their time, or to ensure they are patrolling an area that has particular problems. They will be in radio contact with the police at all times through the CCTV Control Room.
Q. Who do NightSafe Marshals actually work for?
NightSafe Marshals are employees of a private security company, which is itself under contract to Harrogate Borough Council to provide the NightSafe patrol service at the times and days needed. In our case, the private security company that won the NightSafe Marshal tender is Professional Security from Leeds. Professional Security have over five years experience in providing Night Marshal patrols in other towns and cities, including Leeds itself and Halifax, where their contribution helped the town to win a national Purple Flag Award for excellence in managing the night-time economy. They have also been nominated for national awards within the security industry itself and have a proven track record in delivering effective night marshalling elsewhere.
Q. What can NightSafe Marshals do and have they any legal powers?
NightSafe Marshals are there to provide a reassuring uniformed presence on our streets and to be someone to whom members of the public can go to for help when the pubs and clubs are busiest and the town’s nightlife is at its most vibrant.
They will be expected to challenge anti-social or rowdy behaviour, such as littering for example, and work closely with the police, CCTV operators, door supervisors and the town pastors to respond to incidents or record evidence of offences or those responsible to help in the investigation of criminal action or later prosecution. NightSafe Marshals will have excellent interpersonal skills and be trained to resolve alcohol related disputes before they escalate into actual violence or assaults, adopting an early intervention approach. However if physical violence does occur, NightSafe Marshals will be trained to intervene to prevent anyone getting hurt until such time as the police arrive at the scene. NightSafe Marshals have no formal legal powers, but can act as any citizen can to use reasonable force to assist the police, to prevent an offence from taking place or to detain someone who has committed a crime until the police are in a position to take over. They will not have the power to issue fixed penalty tickets.
Q. Can the NightSafe Marshals arrest me?
No, again NightSafe Marshals have no formal powers but they can detain you lawfully using reasonable force if you have committed an offence or are believed to have done so; but detention is only until the police have been called and had the chance to make an initial investigation at the scene. Only a police officer will then make a decision as to whether you should be arrested and taken to the police station.
Q. What training will NightSafe Marshals receive to equip them for this role?
NightSafe Marshals will receive specific training in conflict resolution and management, but also the use of reasonable force for physical intervention where necessary. Other areas of training will include customer care, first aid at work, risk assessing as well as an awareness of drug and alcohol issues. The nature of this service demands that NightSafe Marshals have good interpersonal and communication skills, and those appointed to undertake this role will have been carefully selected and need to be able to demonstrate those key qualities.
Q. Isn’t this all the job of the police?
In recent years many towns and cities have become familiar with seeing agencies other than the police operating in the night-time economy. All are there to provide a service to the public and generally make the town centre at night a safer and more pleasant place for people to visit and enjoy themselves. Examples of such agencies include door supervisors, taxi marshals and volunteer Street Angels, or Town Pastors as they are called in Harrogate. Their role is to help the police to reduce problems, help the public or to keep order either in licensed premises or on the streets, and to do so without any formal powers. NightSafe Marshals are another example of these so called “Capable Guardians” who will have received some training to do the job they are there to do. Whilst uniformed patrol to tackle alcohol related crime and disorder, to enforce the law and keep order is primarily the role of the police, other competing demands sometimes mean that officers are not available to carry out this function to the extent they would like. This is especially the case now that budgets for policing are being reduced along with many other public services. NightSafe Marshals are able to provide a guaranteed and continuous presence on the streets at the times they are needed, to support the police and free them up to carry out other important jobs.
Q. How are these NightSafe Marshals being paid for?
A specific grant has been made by the Home Office to pay for NightSafe Marshals in North Yorkshire. The funding allocated is being used to support existing Night Marshal schemes in Selby and Scarborough and three new schemes in Whitby, Northallerton and here in Harrogate. The money we have been awarded will pay for NightSafe Marshals for three years and must be targeted towards reducing violent crime and disorder..
Q. How will we know if NightSafe Marshals are value for money and doing a good job or not?
Like all new schemes of this kind, the NightSafe Marshals scheme will be closely monitored and their impact evaluated at regular intervals, both by the police, Harrogate Borough Council and the Community Safety Partnership. The NightSafe Marshals will be told exactly what they are to concentrate their efforts upon at the police-led briefing each night. Not only will the actions and performance of the individual NightSafe Marshals be measured, but the impact of the scheme in terms of seeing a reduction in crime figures in the town centre, especially alcohol related violent crime, will be tracked to see if the scheme is working.
Q. Who do I speak to if one of the NightSafe Marshals does something I am unhappy about?
Harrogate Borough Council is managing the NightSafe Marshals scheme on behalf of the Harrogate District Community Safety Partnership. Whilst Professional Security do operate their own robust complaints procedures, any concerns about the service or complaints about the actions of any individual NightSafe Marshal should be directed in the first instance to the CCTV and Community Safety Manager at Harrogate Borough Council, Springfield House, Kings Road, Harrogate HG1 5NX or call 01423 556632.