What do Community Wardens do?

The Kent Community Warden Scheme began with a band of 12 wardens in May 2002, as part of a 3 year pilot scheme. It delivered such early success that numbers were increased within 6 months and in March 2005 a new training centre - the first of its kind in the UK - was opened to help bring the team of wardens up to 101.

The role of Community Wardens:

• They aim to help the people of Kent to live safely and independently in their neighbourhoods and communities.
• They work directly with excluded and vulnerable sections of the community on a wide range of projects, aiming to promote a greater understanding of the cause and effect of anti-social behaviour.
• They provide a visible uniformed presence to tackle such anti-social behaviour. Many wardens are regarded as the focal point for the communities they serve and their mobile telephone number is accessible to all.
• There is no such thing as a typical warden, all ages and backgrounds are represented, and they all share a common cause - to do their best to support and help the communities in which they work.
• They DO NOT have any enforcement powers, however if they cannot solve your problem they will know someone who can.
• They deal with a wide range of issues, from abandoned vehicles to walking buses; from reading to primary school classes to home security for the elderly.

What you can expect from a community warden

Community Wardens work flexible hours between 7.30am and 10pm, Monday to Sunday, enabling them to address local problems as and when they occur within the community in which they work.

Any member of the community can contact their warden by mobile phone.

View the community wardens contact details.

If a Warden is unable to resolve a problem they will advise who may be able to assist.

Training

Wardens undergo an extensive 7 week training programme, which consists of 5 weeks in the classroom and 2 weeks working in their area whilst being mentored by a more experienced warden.

All wardens are trained under the Home Office Community Accreditation Scheme and Kent Police and are required to wear an identifying badge. After the training period wardens will work in their own area and be carefully mentored by a supervising warden. Development for wardens is ongoing and we are committed to their continued development in respect of their skills and knowledge.