A Reform UK council has deployed private security guards to town centres where concerns have reportedly been raised over ‘gatherings of male migrants’ from a nearby accommodation centre.
Essex County Council said that six operatives will patrol Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford town centres from Monday for an initial three-month trial period.
The initiative, titled Operation Vanguard, is funded through a drawdown of up to £150,000 from a community improvement fund, the party said, with the three-month trial expected to cost about £118,000 plus VAT.
It has been criticised by local politicians, including Labour county councillor Lee Scordis.
He told the Press Association: ‘The council’s own report and the police tell us there is no evidence of any rise in crime from asylum seekers in Colchester.
‘This decision is clearly driven by prejudice. We have no answers about what they will do, the powers they will have and even if the council has consulted the police on this.’
A council report titled Launch of Operation Vanguard says the Home Office says ‘there is no evidence of Wethersfield AAA (Airfield Asylum Accommodation) having an impact on crime levels’.
The initiative was announced in August after the Government informed Braintree District Council that it plans to expand the use of nearby former RAF airbase Wethersfield, which houses asylum seekers, some of whom travel to surrounding areas by bus.
The Home Office said it would increase the site’s capacity from 800 to 1,245, and will remain operational beyond 2027.
According to Reform UK, the initiative came as a ‘direct response to concerns raised amongst local residents, particularly women and girls, over gatherings of male migrants in town centres’.
Reform UK leader of Essex County Council, Peter Harris, said: ‘Today, Operation Vanguard moves from words to action. Six trained security guards, two each in Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester, will provide a visible and reassuring presence on our streets, particularly for women and children.
‘Our message is simple: the safety of Essex residents comes first.’
The security guards will work between 10am and 6pm, seven days a week, to ‘deter anti-social behaviour’.
While security guards will work primarily in the areas where the migrants are dropped off, they will assist with other security issues if it becomes necessary, a spokesperson said.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘Public safety remains our first priority and we expect any criminality to be taken seriously. We work with local police to ensure the safety and security of local communities around the site, the staff who work there and those accommodated.
‘The concerns of communities are central to our immigration reforms. We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, close every asylum hotel and move asylum seekers into alternative accommodation including former military sites.’