MICHAEL SCANLON'S SHOCKING CRIMES IN CAMDEN AND SALISBURY: PARK GUARD'S PAST REVEALED

In a disturbing case that has raised serious concerns about safeguarding in public parks, Michael Scanlon, a 63-year-old park attendant, was found guilty of indecent behavior in Camden. Despite his criminal history, he was employed as a warden at Talacre Open Space, a popular park in Camden, where he committed a lewd act in front of two young boys inside the park hut on the afternoon of August 29.

Scanlon's past convictions include a similar indecency offense in 2003, and records show that as far back as 1981, he pleaded guilty to touching a 12-year-old boy in Salisbury, Wiltshire. These prior convictions highlight a troubling pattern of inappropriate conduct, yet at the time of the recent incident, he was still employed in a position that involved close contact with children.

It was only after the incident that authorities learned of his criminal history. The background checks for park staff, which are now standard practice in many boroughs, had not yet been completed for Scanlon because Camden Council had only recently decided to implement such procedures for their wardens. These wardens are employed through a private contractor, Glendale Services, and at the time of the offense, Scanlon's application was still under review, meaning his past was not flagged.

Local officials and community representatives expressed their concern over the oversight. Jill Fraser, a Liberal Democrat councillor representing Haverstock ward, commented, “I think it is a lesson well learnt but not one that we probably foresaw because we would have expected the company to be doing these checks. I am absolutely sure Camden will have learned its lesson and will be looking at this. We are very lucky no child was harmed in any way.”

Peter Cuming, chair of the Friends of Talacre group, emphasized the importance of thorough vetting, stating, “Checks shouldn’t go over the top so we end up with ‘the whole kingdom vetted,’ but the council needed to exercise more care with its parks. You would have thought Glendale would have taken a little more care to find out the history of this man. Because of the thousands of children who use the park, you need a special kind of quality park keeper, and in the past, we have felt that anyone who turned up could work there.”

Following the incident, Scanlon was immediately dismissed from his position and replaced by a new warden. The court heard that despite his 1981 conviction, Scanlon managed to secure employment as a security guard near a children’s paddling pool, only being removed from that role in 2003 after committing a similar lewd act while on duty. Prosecutor Nathan Palmer highlighted these facts during the trial.

During mitigation, Scanlon’s lawyer, Lee Sergent, explained that his client was raised in Galway, Ireland, under the care of the Christian Brothers organization, and claimed he had been subjected to physical abuse by his mentors. “I think that goes quite a long way to explaining some of the behaviour exhibited by Mr Scanlon,” Sergent said.

Judge Martineau sentenced Scanlon to a 24-month probation period and ordered him to undergo a treatment program for sex offenders. The judge remarked on the deep-rooted nature of his offending, stating, “This is deeply engrained obviously. Although it has only been noticed on three occasions, I dare say there have been more occasions than that.”

Camden Council responded by emphasizing that there was no legal obligation to vet parks staff, but the council had chosen to go beyond the minimum requirements. A spokeswoman stated, “We continue to work with Glendale to ensure that staff receive the necessary CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) clearance over and above the legal requirement, and until these checks are fully completed, no contractors working within parks or open spaces across the borough without CRB clearance are permitted to work alone.”