Operation Vanguard - Security patrols to be deployed in Chelmsford as Wethersfield asylum population rises

Private security operatives are set to patrol Chelmsford city centre under a new Essex County Council initiative introduced as the number of asylum seekers housed at the Wethersfield accommodation centre is expected to increase.

The scheme, called Operation Vanguard, will see security personnel deployed in Chelmsford as well as Braintree and Colchester, the three urban centres regularly visited by residents of the former RAF Wethersfield site.

Essex County Council says the security teams will provide a visible presence, reassure residents and help deter anti-social behaviour.

The authority is currently in the process of contracting a private security company, with the scheme initially planned to operate as a three-month trial.

Reports on Saturday said the initiative is expected to cost around £150,000 over the three-month period.

Wethersfield population set to increase

Around 800 men awaiting decisions on asylum applications are currently accommodated at Wethersfield.

The Home Office has announced plans to expand the site to accommodate 1,245 people, while Essex County Council says numbers could potentially rise as high as 1,700.

Residents of the centre are regularly transported into nearby communities, including Chelmsford.

According to council leader Councillor Peter Harris, the Home Office currently operates a fleet of 17 minibuses taking residents from Wethersfield to Chelmsford, Braintree and Colchester each day.

The council says Operation Vanguard has been developed in response to concerns raised by residents about groups of men gathering in the three centres.

However, the security personnel will not have police powers. Responsibility for investigating crime and taking law-enforcement action will remain with Essex Police.

The county council says its role will include passing information about incidents or concerns to the force.

Council says patrols are a 'proportionate response'

Councillor Harris described the scheme as a response to concerns that have been raised by residents for a number of months.

He said the council believed a visible security presence was necessary as the Wethersfield population increases.

“This is a positive and proportionate response to the concerns residents have been raising for many months now regarding the daily bussing of asylum seekers from Wethersfield to Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford,” Harris said.

The council leader also said concerns about community safety had been raised particularly in relation to women and girls.

Harris has criticised the induction process provided to residents arriving at Wethersfield and has called for urgent discussions with the Home Office over the impact of the centre on surrounding communities.

He visited the Wethersfield site earlier this month and subsequently wrote to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood seeking a meeting.

Chelmsford already has increased city centre patrols

Operation Vanguard will add another visible security presence to existing policing and community safety measures in Chelmsford.

Essex Police and Chelmsford City Council have already introduced additional Friday and Saturday night patrols in the city during the summer.

Those patrols operate between 7pm and 3am and cover locations including Central Park, Bell Meadow and the Chelmer Valley Local Nature Reserve.

Essex Police said in July that crime in Chelmsford city centre had fallen by almost five per cent year-on-year, while knife-enabled crime across the district had fallen by almost 18 per cent and serious violence by 29 per cent.

The figures provide important context to the introduction of Operation Vanguard: the county council has presented the new security patrols primarily as a preventative and reassurance measure rather than as a response to an overall rise in crime in Chelmsford.

The council has not, in announcing Operation Vanguard, published figures demonstrating an increase in offending in Chelmsford attributable to residents of the Wethersfield centre.

Three-month trial

Essex County Council intends to consult Essex Police, Chelmsford City Council, Braintree District Council and Colchester City Council about the operation.

The initial security contract will run for three months, allowing the authority to assess how the scheme works before deciding what happens next.

The council is also seeking discussions with the Government over the resources available to local public services in areas affected by large asylum accommodation sites.

For Chelmsford residents, the immediate result will be another uniformed presence in the city centre as Essex prepares for a substantial increase in the number of people accommodated at Wethersfield.

Exactly when the new patrols will begin, and precisely where and when the Chelmsford teams will operate, has yet to be announced.