Five new "shop wardens" – dressed in burgundy to distinguish them from traffic wardens in blue – have been employed in a bid to deter and reduce town centre crime.

Click the green play button to see a video showing the new wardens in their uniform, complete with "Welcome to Worthing" caps.

Their job is to walk around shops and non-retail businesses monitoring suspicious activity.

The wardens, officially launched this week, will cover the area from Brighton Road to Heene Road and up to the north of Chapel Road, by Blockbuster.

There will be patrols seven days a week.

Town centre manager Sharon Clarke said the aim was to help reduce shop theft, illegal trading and vandalism.

"This scheme is about detecting shop crime quickly.

"It also helps the smaller traders who cannot afford to employ security staff," said Mrs Clarke.

"Shop theft is an issue in every town costing millions of pounds.

"Stolen goods are often of low value, such as alcohol and perfume, but it's the knock-on costs of pursuing a prosecution that hits businesses hard and takes up police time."

Visual presence

Mrs Clarke said it was hoped the wardens would act as a visual presence in the town, sending out a message to criminals that they will be seen, caught and prosecuted.

She said the wardens' salaries were not being funded by council tax but that certain businesses were paying a levy on their rates to fund the scheme.

The wardens are part of Worthing Town Centre Initiative's Shopwatch scheme, established in 1992 to connect town centre businesses to a radio that links them with other retailers and the police.

Mrs Clarke said: "It's also an ambassadorial role.

"Wardens are there to answer people's questions and concerns.

"It's the fear of crime that people worry about, seeing a person in uniform helps to take that fear away."

Shop wardens cannot enforce laws or impose fines but are equipped with headcams to record video evidence of theft and enable Worthing police to prosecute.

Radio and discreet earpieces allow them to alert shopkeepers and police of suspicious behaviour.

Warden duties also include reporting uneven pavements to the council and helping reduce environmental crime including graffiti, littering and vandalism.

Have your say

Do you think the new shop wardens will help reduce crime in Worthing town centre?

In the online vote 26 per cent of readers chose "yes", with 74 per cent deciding "no".

What do you think?

Will a uniformed presence help owners of small businesses tackle petty crime?

How safe do you feel knowing the wardens are on patrol?

Share your views, comment in the space below, email the Herald or write in to Readers' Letters, Worthing Herald series, Cannon House, Chatsworth Road, Worthing, BN11 1NA.

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