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Agreement between St Albans City Council, NCP Services and Hertfordshire Police means closer working and joint patrols.

NCP Services, St Albans City and District Council, and Hertfordshire Constabulary have signed up to a groundbreaking co-operation agreement aimed at reducing crime and anti-social behaviour. The new scheme, called Partnership Plus was officially launched when representatives from the three organisations signed a new agreement to work together.

The St Albans agreement is the 21st in the UK and means Hertfordshire Constabulary will provide increased support to parking attendants, to help reduce the level of assaults and intimidation they suffer while at work.

Police officers may patrol the streets jointly with parking attendants in areas where there is thought to be a greater risk of attacks to PAs.

They will also ensure that all assaults or abuse of parking attendants are investigated and where appropriate the offenders prosecuted.

And Parking Attendants will also assist police with their operations when there is a need to enforce against illegally parked vehicles. They will also benefit from more training by police to make them more skilled at reporting street crime swiftly and effectively.

PAs will be encouraged by NCP Services to report street crime and disorder incidents seen while carrying out their duties in St Albans, and the information will be passed to the Police.

The PAs will also benefit from the use of DNA testing kits (Spit Kits) which have been successfully used on other NCP Services contracts to prosecute members of the public who spit at attendants whilst on duty.

NCP's Services On-Street Controller, Nigel Coltman said: 'We already have terrific support from the police across the whole force area - but this agreement specifies several useful ways we can help each other.

'It will help us to further reduce the level of assaults and abuse our parking wardens receive while carrying out their duties - and we hope that we will be able to give something back to the police by providing more formal support in terms of observing and recording street crime and disorder.

'We hope the police in St Albans will come to see the Parking Attendants as an extra set of eyes and ears who are able and willing to help them we are delighted our clients in Reading have supported us in this initiative.'

'Councillor Anthony Rowlands, Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Support said; St Albans City and District Council recognises the benefits of partnership working and is looking forward to enhancing the informal arrangement, which has already made a contribution in providing positive intelligence and action about criminal activity. By formally signing the agreement with NCP Services and Hertfordshire Police this can provide greater opportunities for closer working and mutual support which is something the District Council is delighted to be closely involved with. Parking Attendants perform an important function in ensuring that our parking system operates efficiently. Extending their role by requiring them to work more closely with the police in combating street crime is another step towards professionalising their role and making it a more rewarding and attractive job.'

St Albans Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Mike Hanson said: 'We are very happy to work together with the council and NCP in making sure our streets are safe.

'St Albans is a safe place to work and live but the agencies working together and providing a highly visible presence gives the public added reassurance. We are sure this scheme is going to be highly successful.'

For further details contact James Pritchard, NCP Services Communications: 020 7290 6218/ 07793 697 409.