Wardens Award, which was presented by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in London this week, singled out Sonny’s city wide CCTV scheme. The project meant he had to personally map on foot over 1500 private and public cameras, belonging to 160 organisations across the city centre. The scheme has played an important role in helping police track criminal activity.
Sonny is one of only seven other “local heroes”, who have helped improve the lives of their neighbours. Seven wardens and four warden teams from around England were winners and a further nine, (two from the West Midlands) were also commended at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s (ODPM) 2005 Warden Achievement Awards. Their successes include:
· Working to ensure elderly people are safe and having fun at Tea Dances and other outings;
· Setting up junior warden schemes with more than 200 young people as members;
· Playing a key role in a child protection case;
· Providing a gardening equipment library to encourage residents to make their own improvements to their community;
· Reducing incidents of arson and unauthorised break-ins.
Baroness Andrews, Minister in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, said:
“I’m going to borrow a quote from Maya Angelou, she said, ‘How important it is to recognise and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!’ The ODPM awards do just that, they honour and recognise neighbourhood wardens - men and women - who have excelled themselves by working tirelessly, often beyond the call of duty. Nothing, however, can reward the wardens more than the sense of achievement felt from having made real improvement to their communities and the lives of their residents.
“Through their daily work wardens are helping to create sustainable and safe communities by fostering a sense of respect. Residents, both young and old, are being encouraged to take account of the impact of their actions on others, and to become involved in their communities, often for the first time.
“Wardens are proven assets to their communities: put simply, they get the job done and make a real difference. Local people report major improvements to their neighbourhoods thanks to the presence and determination of wardens, acting to ensure their concerns are heard and passed on to the correct authority to deal with. They can, and do, reach out to parts of the community that others cannot reach.”
Winning wardens come from Bedford, Birmingham, Colchester, London, Rotherham, Salford, St. Neots, Tameside and Thurrock. Colchester and Rotherham were particularly successful in receiving double awards.
Neighbourhood Wardens deal with problems such as fly-tipping, abandoned vehicles and graffiti. They also act as a bridge between disaffected and socially isolated sections of the community who would otherwise not be able to access services provided by local agencies there to help.
Those who become wardens are local people, employed to work in partnership with other agencies to address the issues that affect quality of life for their fellow citizens. Their uniformed presence provides both reassurance and a recognisable point of contact, promoting and assisting community safety, peace of mind, environmental improvement and housing management.
The Neighbourhood Warden Achievement Awards 2005:
COMMUNITY SAFETY AWARD
WINNER: Sonny Sandhu, City Centre Street Wardens, Birmingham.
Sonny has been a key individual in the success of the Circle of Deterrent scheme, which brought together more than 1500 private and public CCTV systems to cover Birmingham City and its approach roads. He helped map cameras belonging to more than 160 organisations, walking over 250 miles around Birmingham, the equivalent distance of London to Paris. The scheme has played an important role in helping police track criminal activity in the city centre.
MANAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD
COMMENDED: Philip Bertie, Castle Vale Community Wardens, Birmingham.
DIVERSITY AWARD
COMMENDED: Caroline Massey, City Centre Street Wardens, Birmingham.
ENVIRONMENTAL (LIVEABILITY) AWARD
COMMENDED: Sandwell Street Wardens, West Midlands.
