The former Wethersfield airbase is used to house asylum seekers (Image: Getty)

The scheme, named Operation Vanguard, is being financed through a withdrawal of up to £150,000 from a community improvement fund, according to the party, with the three-month trial projected to cost approximately £118,000 plus VAT.

The measure was unveiled in August after the Government notified Braintree District Council of plans to expand the nearby former RAF airbase Wethersfield, which accommodates asylum seekers, some of whom travel to neighbouring areas by bus.

He told the Press Association: “The council’s own report and the police tell us there is no evidence of any rise in crime from asylum seekers in Colchester.

A council report entitled Launch of Operation Vanguard reveals that the Home Office states “there is no evidence of Wethersfield AAA (Airfield Asylum Accommodation) having an impact on crime levels”.

The report continues: “Regardless of this there is anecdotal evidence – which the Home Office has publicly acknowledged – that the presence of this community of asylum seekers creates a fear and perception of a risk of crime.”

According to Reform UK, the initiative emerged as a “direct response to concerns raised amongst local residents, particularly women and girls, over gatherings of male migrants in town centres”.

Reform UK leader of Essex County Council, Peter Harris, declared: “Today, Operation Vanguard moves from words to action.

Reform UK leader of Essex County Council Peter Harris (Image: Joe Giddens/PA Wire)

“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.”

The security personnel will operate between 10am and 6pm, seven days a week.

Reform UK stated the scheme will “deter anti-social behaviour”, provide “reassurance” to local residents and “gather evidence” regarding whether further support might be necessary.

It is worth noting that private security guards hold no greater legal powers than ordinary members of the public when tackling crime, meaning that policing responsibilities will continue to rest firmly with the constabulary. While security personnel will operate mainly in the areas where the migrants are dropped off, they will provide support with additional security matters should the need arise, a spokesperson confirmed.

Liberal Democrat councillor Stephen Robinson, leader of Chelmsford City Council, said: “We need to make sure our communities are safe and cohesive, but stoking fear and stirring up stereotypes about asylum seekers, which is what Reform UK is doing, will not achieve that.

“The asylum system is in a mess because certain Reform politicians, who used to be Conservative ministers, let the system spiral out of control.

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.”

Essex Police have been approached for comment.

Reform UK council deploys security patrols to asylum seeker ‘hotspots’

A Reform UK-led council in Essex has deployed private security patrols in three town centres following concerns about groups of asylum seekers travelling from a nearby accommodation site.

The initiative, known as Operation Vanguard, began on September 14, 2026, with six uniformed security operatives deployed across Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester. The three-month trial is intended to provide a visible presence in areas where the council says concerns about anti-social behaviour and public safety have been raised.

Essex County Council says the patrols are designed to reassure residents, businesses and visitors while gathering evidence about whether additional community-safety measures may be required. The operation is funded from the council’s Community Innovation and Improvement Fund. The expected cost of the three-month trial is around £118,000 plus VAT.

The decision has nevertheless become part of a wider political debate over asylum accommodation, public safety and the responsibilities of local authorities.

Six security operatives across three towns

Under Operation Vanguard, two private security operatives will patrol each of the three locations. The patrols are scheduled seven days a week, approximately from 10am until 6pm.

The council says the operatives will concentrate on agreed routes, including places where anti-social behaviour has previously been reported.

Importantly, the personnel are not police officers. They are employed by private security provider My Local Bobby and are Security Industry Authority-licensed. Essex County Council says they have training in safeguarding, conflict management, de-escalation and public engagement.

They do not have police enforcement powers, meaning criminal incidents remain the responsibility of Essex Police.

That distinction is central to understanding what the scheme actually does. The patrols are intended primarily as a visible deterrent and reassurance measure rather than as a replacement for conventional policing.

Council leader Peter Harris said the authority wanted to act before any potential increase in crime or anti-social behaviour rather than wait until problems became more serious.

The council has described the programme as a preventative measure aimed at improving residents’ sense of security.

Why Wethersfield is at the centre of the debate

The patrols are linked to the Wethersfield asylum accommodation site, a former RAF base in Essex.

The site has housed asylum seekers since 2023. According to Essex County Council, the Home Office has confirmed plans to increase the number of people accommodated there to up to 1,245. The council has also previously raised the possibility of the site eventually accommodating as many as 1,700 people.

The council says as many as 17 minibuses can travel from Wethersfield to Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester each day.

This regular movement of residents from the accommodation centre into nearby towns has become a major part of the local political argument.

Reform UK representatives say residents have contacted the authority with concerns about groups gathering in town centres and about the impact of the increased number of asylum seekers travelling into the area.

The party has presented Operation Vanguard as a response to those concerns and as an attempt to provide a visible security presence in public spaces.

Concerns about crime remain disputed

One of the most important aspects of the controversy is the difference between perceptions of safety and recorded evidence about crime.

The council has stressed that it is responding to concerns expressed by residents and does not want to wait for crime or anti-social behaviour to increase before taking preventative action.

However, reporting on the issue has also highlighted statements from police indicating that crime linked to the Wethersfield site remains low. ITV reported that the council’s initiative followed concerns about gatherings of male migrants, while other reporting has noted that police have not identified an increase in crime corresponding to the presence of asylum seekers.

That distinction matters because the deployment of private security does not itself establish that asylum seekers are responsible for increased criminal activity.

Instead, the council’s stated argument is that the patrols are intended to address public concerns, deter anti-social behaviour generally and provide reassurance.

This makes the trial, in part, an experiment in whether a highly visible security presence can improve residents’ sense of safety even where recorded crime does not show a corresponding rise.

A political test for Reform-led local government

The operation also illustrates the way immigration has become an important issue for Reform UK at local-government level.

Reform UK won control of Essex County Council in the 2025 local elections, and the party has made immigration and public safety prominent parts of its political platform.

Operation Vanguard gives the party an opportunity to put that approach into practice at a local level.

The council says its decision reflects the concerns it has heard from residents and its responsibility to take preventative action. Reform representatives have described the patrols as a visible demonstration that the authority intends to respond to community concerns.

Opposition politicians, however, have questioned whether spending more than £100,000 on private security is the most appropriate response when police figures do not indicate a significant increase in crime associated with the asylum accommodation centre.

The disagreement therefore goes beyond the patrols themselves.

It reflects two different approaches to public policy: one focused on acting in response to residents’ perceptions of safety and another focused more heavily on documented crime levels and evidence of specific risks.

What the guards can and cannot do

There is also a practical question about what six private security guards can achieve across three sizeable town centres.

Because the operatives do not have police powers, they cannot investigate crimes, make arrests in the same way as police officers or replace emergency services.

Their role is primarily preventative and observational.

Their presence may discourage certain forms of anti-social behaviour and give residents someone visible to approach with concerns. But serious criminal incidents will still require Essex Police.

The council has made clear that the operation is not intended to transfer policing responsibilities to a private company.

Instead, it is being presented as an additional layer of community safety.

The three-month trial should therefore provide the authority with an opportunity to assess whether the approach has a measurable impact.

The wider question of asylum accommodation

Behind the local dispute lies a national problem.

The UK Government has continued to use large accommodation sites to house asylum seekers while their claims are processed. These arrangements can place substantial pressure on individual communities, particularly when large numbers of people are accommodated in locations that previously served very different purposes.

For councils, the challenge is balancing the practical effects of these sites with the need to maintain public services and community confidence.

For asylum seekers, meanwhile, being placed in large accommodation centres can leave them dependent on transport arrangements and with limited control over where they live while their claims are considered.

The debate around Wethersfield therefore involves several separate questions: how many people should be accommodated at the site, how quickly asylum claims should be processed, how transport into nearby towns should be managed, and what resources should be available for community safety.

Operation Vanguard addresses only one part of that wider picture.

What happens next?

For now, the security patrols are scheduled to continue for three months.

Essex County Council says the trial will also help it gather evidence about whether further support may be required as the Wethersfield site expands.

That evaluation could prove significant.

If the council concludes that the patrols improve public reassurance or reduce reported anti-social behaviour, it could provide an argument for continuing or modifying the scheme.

If the evidence shows little measurable effect, questions are likely to be raised about the cost and effectiveness of the approach.

For residents, the most important issue will ultimately be whether they feel safer and whether town centres remain welcoming and well-managed.

For police and other authorities, the key question will be whether recorded incidents change over time.

And for Reform UK, the experiment will be closely watched as an example of how the party’s approach to immigration and public safety translates into local government policy.

For now, Operation Vanguard remains a three-month trial rather than a permanent policing arrangement. Its results — rather than the political rhetoric surrounding it — will provide the clearest evidence of what the scheme has actually achieved.

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