Why council is funding patrols near asylum base

Uniformed security patrols have taken to the streets of three towns in Essex which are frequently visited by asylum seekers housed on a former military base.

Reform UK-led Essex County Council said Operation Vanguard was being trialled for three months in direct response to concerns raised by residents and would "deter anti-social behaviour".

Police say crimes linked to the MDP Wethersfield site are very low.

Here's what you need to know about the scheme:

MDP Wethersfield has been used to house single male migrants since 2023 and the number of occupants looks set to rise from about 800 to 1,220.

The former airbase is close to the small rural village of Wethersfield and houses men aged between 18 and 65.

The government said "making use of existing basic accommodation on MoD sites such as the Wethersfield site is just the first step in [our] work to exit hotels and source more appropriate accommodation to meet our statutory obligations".

It said asylum seekers were sent to the site following initial screening checks against policing and immigration databases.

Those living at the base are provided with transport "where necessary", to access services in the community or to volunteer within that community.

Some of these communities now have private security patrols.

The then-Conservative government announced plans to house migrants at Wethersfield near Braintree, as well as RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, in March 2023.

Migrants were moved into Wethersfield in July 2023 and there were initial plans to accommodate 1,700 people there.

Braintree District Council opposed the use but lost its appeal.

It later began a legal fight against the Home Office's plans, but in 2024 withdrew from the Judicial Review appeal after the Home Office laid a Special Development Order (SDO) in parliament.

Peter Harris, leader of Essex County Council, said introducing security patrols was "a positive and proportionate response to the concerns residents have been raising for many months now regarding the daily bussing of asylum seekers from Wethersfield to Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford".

Harris said 17 minibuses were operated out of Wethersfield to these locations each day.

The administration said the security move would deter anti-social behaviour (ASB).

Harris said he felt Operation Vanguard was "very necessary".

He said he recently visited Wethersfield and witnessed "many, many security guards in the camp, so clearly the Home Office feels that there needs to be security".

"And yet, when the 17 minibuses take hundreds of men into our towns, there's no security."

He said the local police were "unable to provide that sort of attention on those individual migrants, leaving our residents in fear of what may happen".

"There are crimes - there's 15 recorded crimes," he told the BBC.

"There are issues that happen on an almost daily basis that are not reported to the police.

"I've been contacted by literally hundreds of residents since we launched this to say thank you and we will now come back into town if we feel safe.

"We're putting the safety of our women and children, and our residents, first," he added.

According to crime survey data produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the year ending March 2026, in Essex, recorded anti-social behaviour incidents were up 7.3% whilst overall crime was down by 0.9%.

In Chelmsford, ASB was up 8% and all crime was down by 4.5%.

In Braintree, both were down by 8.6% and 6.5% respectively.

In Colchester, both were up 7.2% and 4.7%.

Nationality or residency status is not recorded in the crime survey.

Essex Police said since the summer anti-social behaviour incidents had been recorded more accurately and that has led to a spike in recorded figures.

The new chief constable at Essex Police, Rachel Nolan, told the BBC: "Crimes and incidents associated with the Wethersfield site are very low."

She added: "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."

The BBC has submitted a Freedom of Information request to Essex Police asking how many crimes have been linked to Wethersfield.

Referred to by the council as "security operatives", the six guards will be assigned to the centres of Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford.

There will be two guards in each town and patrols will take place seven days a week, from 10:00 to 18:00.

They will cover agreed patrol routes rather than remaining in fixed positions, including "agreed hotspots where anti-social behaviour has been reported", the council said.

The security operatives are employees of My Local Bobby, a private security firm contracted by Essex County Council.

The council said the guards would be recognisable as they would be wearing red vests.

All operatives will also have body-worn cameras and Security Industry Authority (SIA) identification "visible or immediately available to be produced as required".

This licence is a legal requirement to work in the private security industry across the UK.

David McKelvey, head of My Local Bobby, said his company worked across the UK and, where they were active, "we bring an element of safety to the area and we've seen crime go down".

"It's about creating safer communities - making people feel safe. It's about having a visible presence."

The guards have no enforcement powers and no ability to arrest people, the council said.

It added that any criminal matters would be referred to Essex Police.

The council confirmed the operatives have "no more powers than any member of the public".

However, it said: "All operatives are trained in safeguarding, conflict management, de-escalation, lawful use of force, incident reporting and public-facing conduct."

Council officers have also met with police to define the services and are expected to meet periodically over the three-month trial period.

Operation Vanguard will be paid for with up to £150,000 from the council's Community Innovation and Improvement Fund reserve, with the three-month trial expected to cost £117,936 plus VAT.

There will be no additional cost to taxpayers and no increase in council tax as a result of the scheme.

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."

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