P.W. (Your Letters, Mar 24) makes fair comment about the excessive increase in council tax and also when he links this to new initiatives like the introduction of community safety wardens.

The warden idea does have merit in so far as it gives work to unemployed people, but one has to wonder about their true effectiveness. We read reports of the scheme's success but I am at a loss to understand how this is quantified.

In my experience, where the wardens are to be seen they are usually in groups talking among themselves and showing little concern for their surroundings. Their appearance is far too innocuous. How much better it would be to provide them with brightly-coloured clothing as they do in Newcastle. Better still, rather than patrolling the town centre, which as P.W. accurately points out is already well covered by CCTV and other security patrols, why not attach the wardens to local Homewatch schemes where they can effectively work with the community. In this way they could provide a useful, meaningful and valuable service, linking residents to other agencies and providing practical advice and support. Or is this thinking too radical and logical for the 21st century?

Another cost-saving measure would be to dispense with local councillors. We would save thousands of pounds at a stroke.

After all, with the introduction of area boards, local democracy has taken a huge leap forward. And since the boards are partly composed of local community representatives, sensitive to our local needs, they can put forward the issues that matter to us and be just as effective in doing so.

Thinking about it, each board could also be responsible for managing the community safety wardens in their area.

COMMON SENSE

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