Street Pastors Scheme Coming to Hedge End, West End and Botley
By Caroline_W | Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 10:17
Street Pastors are volunteers from local churches and community groups joining together with members of the police, council and statutory agencies to go out on to the streets to engage with people in problem areas, and in particular with young people who feel themselves to be excluded and marginalised. In 2010 the scheme is coming to Hedge End, West End and Botley.
The emphasis is on providing care, a listening ear and support through engaging in dialogue and building relationships.
The church input is inter-denominational and it’s stressed the nation-wide scheme is not a preaching mission – church members are not there to recruit.
Street pastors wear a uniform of black jacket and baseball-type cap so they’re easily identifiable and receive training in social awareness, drugs awareness, mentoring, and counselling skills. A team consists of three or more groups of four people, with each group working at least one night a month, usually from 10.00pm to around 4.00am.
The scheme was set up in January 2003 as the brainchild of Rev Les Isaac to help address issues of binge-drinking, gang culture, loneliness, violence, and gun and knife crime in Brixton. Now led by the charity, Ascension Trust, there are more than 125 teams in the UK.
In Hampshire teams already operate in Eastleigh, Gosport, Southampton, and Fair Oak and Horton Heath. In Fair Oak last year the police reported crime levels had fallen dramatically following a crack-down by Safer Neighbourhoods officers from the Eastleigh South police team and which involved input from Street Pastors.
Safer Neighbourhoods Sergeant Sally Allgrove said: “By talking to residents at Beat Surgeries and while out on patrol, officers were able to gather information that enabled us to identify the key issues of concern. This resulted in high-visibility police patrols in the area at peak times, with officers dealing robustly with anyone who stepped out of line. This work was supplemented by the successful Street Pastors initiative that began in February this year [2008].”
The scheme is funded by the police, local churches, parish councils and in Eastleigh, the Eastleigh Borough Council Crime Reduction Partnership.
Street Pastor volunteers must be over 18, have been a member of their church for at least a year and be prepared to commit to the training programme which is run locally and consists of 12 days over five months.
If you’d like more information about the scheme, visit the Street Pastors’ website. The church input here for the scheme in Hedge End will be coordinated via Churches Together in Hedge End, West End and Botley.
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Hedge End’s MP, MP for Eastleigh Chris Huhne, says he welcomes the news that a Street Pastors group is coming to Hedge End.
Commenting on the achievements of the Street Pastors in Fair Oak – the first group to begin operating in Eastleigh borough – Chris Huhne said that he was very impressed by the calm dedication and effectiveness of the volunteers.
"Two years ago, many constituents complained about anti-social behaviour in Fair Oak, but the situation is now much improved thanks in part to the work of the Street Pastors in conjunction with local police and improved youth facilities,” Mr Huhne continued.
"Public-spirited projects such as these have a huge benefit on the local community, and the Street Pastors must be congratulated for their good work and generosity. Long may it continue."
By Caroline_W at 17:07 on 30/03/10
Reportnote from the Hedge End police web site.
Locally, we work with your community to find out what matters most where you live. We will work with you and our partner agencies to agree the main priorities for the area and how we will work together to tackle them.
The key priorities for the Hedge End North team are:
To disrupt the activities of those who visit the Hedge End Retail Parks for the purpose of street racing.
To target a group of 20 people who have been identified as being responsible for the majority of incidents of anti-social behaviour and minor crime, including damage and theft. We are working with multi-agency partners to set boundaries and outline acceptable behaviour for those identified as well to provide support for parents and organise diversionary activities for any young people involved.
To reduce incidents of underage drinking and use of controlled drugs at local recreation grounds at Turnpike Way, Woodhouse Lane, Botley Recreation Ground and Telegraph Woods.
These are the priorities that people in your local area have agreed with the Safer Neighbourhoods team. You can influence these priorities by contacting your team, attending a meeting or speaking to members of the team when you see them out and about.
Maybe not Brixton but there is a need.
By robinss at 23:13 on 29/03/10
ReportIf it is formally organised through the Churches, this is perhaps a more appropriate use of volunteers than some other schemes. Not entirely sure it is necessary though. Hedge End isn't like Brixton, thank goodness. Will watch with interest...
By TGRWorzel at 12:38 on 30/12/09
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