Private Security Patrols Proposed for Princes Sreet

A proposal to place private security guards on key retail streets in central Edinburgh is being considered by hundreds of local businesses as a means to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

Ten uniformed 'Visitor Guides' will offer assistance and information to shoppers while also targeting troublemakers, should a new initiative to establish a Business Improvement District in the area between Princes Street and George Street be implemented.
Through a number of measures the BID scheme, known as Essential Edinburgh, aims to improve the area’s security, for shoppers and businesses, as well as to improve its appearance, accessibility and commercial profile.

The wardens will be among the more visible components of the initiative and are to have a variety of responsibilities. Elinor Jayne, the project’s development manager, told the Journal: “The emphasis is on them being visitor guides but they will have quite a number of roles. They’re to be a welcoming face to the area to welcome visitors and point them in the right direction. But they will also work with businesses and the police to cut down crime.”

The wardens would observe activity on the streets and liaise with the police, informing them of individual crimes as well as longer-term patterns of anti-social behaviour.

The proposal is closely modelled on the introduction of security personnel to central London six years ago, known as the 'Red Caps' on account of their distinctive headgear. The scheme has met with broad success on Regent, Oxford and Bond streets, where crime has reportedly fallen by over 12 per cent and businesses are joining waiting lists to set up in the area.

As well as providing a helpful and reassuring presence, the Red Caps are expected to tackle criminal activity directly by making citizens arrests, and have also been charged with asking beggars and homeless people to move out of the area.

As yet, these tasks are not part of the responsibilities of the Edinburgh wardens. Ms Jayne told the Journal: “They’re more just eyes and ears on the ground at this stage.

"It’ll be a matter of seeing how it works and potentially the service will be adjusted as we go along. No-one can move a beggar just for begging, it’s only really for causing a nuisance or being aggressive. If that’s the case then they will work to resolve the problem either directly or by being involved with the police.”

The initiative has been put to a vote of 570 businesses in the area, which have until the May 23 to make their decision. The BID will then be implemented if 25 per cent of voters agree to the scheme, each of whom will pay an additional levy of 1 per cent of their rateable value.

The BID proposal has received a significant amount of support from leading companies and smaller businesses in the area. The managers of the St James’ Centre and Edinburgh branches of the House of Fraser and John Lewis have urged their neighbours to vote with them in support of the BID.

Steve Hudson, director of Digisnaps in Hanover Street, said: "Edinburgh's city centre is special and justifiably famous all over the world. A vote in favour of the BID will be an extremely positive step and will help make the most out of what is a unique resource."

Although the scheme is billed as a partnership between local businesses, the council and the police, it has been suggested that the needs of the area should be met by existing business rates rather than with private sector finance or initiative.

Nathalie Thomas, writing in Scotland on Sunday, said: "The business zone idea is a good one but only if the services the BID provides are a supplement to, not a substitute for, services that should be provided as standard."

However, Enterprise Edinburgh has highlighted the efficiency of a private enterprise of this sort, stating on their website that: “A BID is a way of securing sustainable investment for additional services and projects over a 5-year period, without the red tape and bureaucracy that is often associated with public sector investment. Funds raised are controlled and spent in line with business priorities. Business rates are spent on existing services across the city – they are not ring-fenced to the area in which they are raised”

Nevertheless further concerns have been raised about the ability for independent businesses in less well off areas of the city to compete with the attractions of the BID.

If approval is received in May, the BID arrangements will be implemented in June. Contracts to operate the Visitor Guides are yet to be put out to tender, and a uniform is still to be designed.