A Reform council has hired private security guards in three town centres to ward off “gatherings of male migrants” after reports they were intimidating locals and “wolf-whistling at schoolgirls”, making the town centre a ‘no-go’ zone for women. The Mail has the story.
Essex County Council said six “operatives” will patrol Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford town centres from today for an initial three-month trial period.
Men housed at the migrant accommodation centre – the largest of its kind in Britain – are often bussed into local towns to shop and access services.
Reform said the patrols – named Operation Vanguard – came as a “direct response to concerns raised amongst local residents, particularly women and girls, over gatherings of male migrants in town centres”.
One Braintree resident, Mike Readon, 66, last month said he saw the effect of migrants in his town centre first-hand as they are dropped off by the busload in the morning – smartphones in hand and often masked.
He said: “They hang around the bus station and they whistle at the schoolgirls coming off the buses.
“It’s horrendous. Lots of women just avoid the town entirely on a Thursday because it’s a totally different environment.
“You see them hanging around the cash machines and then going into charity shops, haggling for a shirt that only costs a pound, trying to get it for 50p.
“My wife and her friends, they wouldn’t come in on a Thursday, certainly not alone anyhow.”
Reform’s Peter Harris, the leader of Essex County Council, 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.”
New Essex Police Chief Constable Rachel Nolan has said crime linked to the large asylum accommodation in the county was “very low”.
“Certainly, as far as I’ve seen, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to be concerned about criminality associated with migrants from the Wethersfield camp in Essex,” she told BBC Look East.
The new patrols will cost around £118,000 plus VAT and will be funded by using up to £150,000 from a community improvement fund, the party said.
The guards will work from 10am to 6pm seven days a week to “deter anti-social behaviour”, the council said, and provide “reassurance” to residents and “gather evidence” on whether additional support is needed.
Worth reading in full.
Dr. Will Jones is Editor of the Daily Sceptic. He has a PhD in political philosophy, an MA in ethics, a BSc in mathematics and a diploma in theology. This article was first published HERE
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