Neighbourhood Safety Officers work to reduce fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour, and one worker facing redundancy warns that erasing his department is ‘a complete invitation to stabbings’. By STEVEN DOWNES
Historic document: 17 years ago, the council celebrated the introduction of the NSOs
A council workers’ union is claiming that cash-strapped Croydon’s decision to axe its Neighbourhood Safety Officer team will create a surge in fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour around the borough – and possibly worse.
One union official has described the cuts as “a complete invitation to anarchy”.
The cuts, authorised by Tory Mayor Jason Perry in the council budget he pushed through last month together with his 15per cent Council Tax hike, will see as many as 22 NSOs lose their jobs, at a time when national government are talking of cracking down on anti-social behaviour.
The NSOs work with the police to investigate anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping, while also providing intelligence on other issues, including drug dealing and knife crime.
The planned cuts were originally included in the 2022-2023 budget that was passed in the last weeks of the discredited Labour administration that originally bankrupted the borough.
There has been some discussion over the introduction of private security patrols, paid for from commission from issuing on-the-spot fines, being trialled in Thornton Heath and New Addington, as replacements for the NSOs. The town centre business improvement district has already introduced bounty-hunter wardens, though not without some controversy.
The GMB union says there are 18 council NSOs and four managers who could lose their jobs if the council’s chief executive, Katherine Kerswell, carries out the decision to close the department.
Out of step: Tory Mayor Jason Perry
“Removal of the service needs a rethink because it is a complete invitation to stabbings, I don’t know what the streets of Croydon will look like without this service,” one NSO whose job is under threat, Nathan Ibe, said in a video released online by the GMB.
The union accuses Mayor Perry of being out of step with his own party leaders at Westminster.
“For our members who live in the borough and work at the council, not only are they being forced to pay an extra 15per cent in council tax, but they’re now being told they’re out of a job,” said Rachael Baylis, the GMB organiser for Croydon Council.
“GMB are fighting these cuts to our members’ jobs and the way in which Croydon Council is treating their hardworking, community-oriented staff.
“These cuts are a complete invitation to anarchy, at a time when Rishi Sunak is talking about challenging exactly this sort of behaviour. They are giving licence to anti-social behaviour across Croydon.”
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