Press reveal council's 'danger list'

Using the Freedom of Information Act, we have obtained a detailed breakdown of City of York Council's highly-confidential Staff Warning Register (SWR), which records people and properties deemed to pose a risk to council employees.

It reveals:

* 93 people are on the list, for offences including assault, threats of violence, racial abuse and sexual misbehaviour. They include 86 men, and seven women, including one under 18* There are a further 63 properties, for reasons including dangerous dogs, drugs paraphernalia, or unidentified dangerous people being there* 2007 is set to see the biggest rise in the register since it was set up.

Ben Drake, York Unison branch secretary, said today: "Violence towards public sector staff is a big concern to Unison and other unions in the public sector.

"It's absolutely unacceptable that staff going about their jobs are subject to abuse or violence. With other unions, we have taken a firm line with management that this needs to be acted on.

"The Staff Warning Register is one measure City of York Council has taken. It is not enough in itself, and the council would agree that there need to be clear risk assessments and a proper discussion with staff. It's part of a wider strategy."

The SWR was established in April 2004, as a way of warning council employees of potential dangers as they were going about their job, and to keep a record of noteworthy incidents.

Three years on, the register includes logs of 28 assaults; 29 counts of threats of violence, including ten with a weapon and one in which a book was thrown at an officer; and 36 cases of abuse or other "unacceptable behaviour".

The status of the register is routinely shared with Unison, and can be accessed by council staff or councillors when necessary. In one case, an injunction was obtained to protect staff.

The SWR initially included 21 names, with a further 22 added in the first year. In 2005, 21 more were added, and 15 in 2006. In the first four months of this year, 14 people have been added. If that rate continues, 2007 will see the biggest increase since the register's launch.

Incidents logged include a caretaker who was assaulted on council property, threats made to an officer on a home visit, even though police were present, and threats made against officers during an eviction by a non-resident.

Simon Wiles, the council's director of resources, said the SWR had helped staff "in making them aware of incidents and risks and enabling them and their managers to take action to manage those risks while still providing services to the customers." He said it had also given staff and some councillors a greater feeling of security.

The council's response to the FOI request said: "Nominations of people may follow incidents directly involving council staff, or occur outside the council. If we are made aware of such an incident, and we decide it is evidence of a risk to our colleagues, then those people may be added to the register as well." The assaults included touching or jostling, and incidents causing injury, but no record included a member of staff needing hospital treatment.

Unacceptable behaviour includes foul language, sexual misbehaviour or racial abuse, and must be serious enough to interfere with the delivery of council services.

Register is 'outrageous', says shopkeeper

CITY centre shopkeeper Stuart Sykes was placed on the Staff Warning Register, after allegedly threatening a York council worker with a rifle.

Mr Sykes, who runs Blue Moon Trading, in Goodramgate, was accused of pointing the replica weapon at an officer when telling him to leave the premises last October.

As reported in The Press earlier this year, Mr Sykes denied threatening anyone, and said the decision to put him on the register was "outrageous".

He admitted having had a heated conversation with a "bombastic" officer and said he had been cleaning a replica rifle at the time, but he denied pointing it at him.

A council spokeswoman said an incident had taken place and, as a result, "appropriate safety measures" had been taken.

Helps 'minimise risk'

City of York council's director of resources, Simon Wiles, said: "Managers feel it important that a proper record of incidents and risks is kept so that patterns of behaviour can be spotted and action taken to minimise risks (such as staff visiting some customers or properties in pairs, or some customers are requested to come to council officers where well-equipped interview rooms with proper security in place are used for some customer interviews)."