A Reform UK council’s decision to send private security guards into town centres has drawn a mixed response, with some feeling safer and others calling it a waste of money.
Six operatives will patrol Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford for a three-month trial, Essex County Council said. The initiative is expected to cost around £118,000 plus VAT.
The plan follows an August notification from the Government regarding the expansion of nearby former RAF Wethersfield, an airbase housing asylum seekers who travel locally by bus. The Home Office plans to increase capacity from 800 to 1,245 and remain active past 2027.
Reform UK said the move was a "direct response to concerns raised amongst local residents, particularly women and girls, over gatherings of male migrants in town centres".
Two guards in red stab vests patrolled Braintree on Monday, walking along a street lined with St George’s Cross flags, through a supermarket car park, and past the town hall.
Patricia Crowhurst, 78, a local support worker, said: "I don’t think there’s any point in it. If they’ve got money to waste surely they could give it to the police that we’ve already got and we could have more security in the town if people are frightened."
Sheila Clark, 66, said she was "not frightened" of migrants, noting: "I haven’t seen them in any trouble as such, they never seem to have caused any trouble and I’m in town a lot."
She was more concerned about drug issues: "There’s a lot of drug people just hanging round continuously. They don’t seem to do nothing with them, police."
However, she viewed the patrols as "a good thing for the town", adding: "I feel better because they’re around if there’s anything happens."
Louise Edwards, 39, said the presence "will be a deterrent, 100%", adding: "Let’s face it, the world’s not as it used to be, people are carrying all sorts, doing all sorts of things."
Jordan Taylor, 25, added: "I think it’s a great idea to be fair. There’s a lot of crime happening recently. It prevents crime."
Andy Cullen from security firm My Local Bobby said staff wore stab vests that were "pretty armoured". On Monday, he noted guards could make a citizen’s arrest, "and that’s as far as it goes really".
"It’s really about providing that safer, smiley community, that’s what we want," he said, adding staff were not told to target migrants but were "looking at making sure that everybody is feeling secure in their own shopping centre and town centre and they can walk round feeling happy".
Operation Vanguard is funded by drawing up to £150,000 from a community improvement fund, Reform UK said.
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