Pastors on patrol

Sep 12 2008 by Barry Ellams, Chester Chronicle

Divine intervention in the form of street pastors could help cure Chester’s night-time problems of drink and anti-social behaviour. BARRY ELLAMS reports

GOOD Shepherds will watch their flocks by night as a new church street service comes to Chester.

Street pastors are to patrol the city centre between 10pm and 4am looking for the lost, the vulnerable, the homeless, the drunk, those in search of spiritual guidance or those who want a friendly chat.

A team of four trained parishioners from various church denominations will offer practical assistance, including providing flip flops to ladies with sore feet.

The pastors will:

Administer First Aid

Bin glass bottles

Listen and give advice

Give out thermal blankets

Arrange for taxis and transport home

Work with police, CCTV and clubs and pubs

The voluntary organisation is an unheralded boost to efforts to clean up Chester’s streets as more young people pour into the city centre to enjoy the restaurants, bars and clubs.

The scheme, 60 of which are operational in the UK, was piloted in London as an antidote to the resurgence of gun crime and works in Blackburn, Manchester, Leeds, Wrexham.

Street pastors are backed by local authorities and police and has the blessing of Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Tory leader David Cameron who recently told The Daily Telegraph “It’s absolutely fantastic the job they are doing. What we need is more people out in the community supporting the police, who can’t do the job of beating anti-social behaviour on their own.”

The pastors are “collaborative” but independent of the police, they are not substitute PCSOs or community wardens but they can work with Chester City Council’s CCTV team and club doormen in helping to defuse potential flashpoints in a non-aggressive way.

Sceptics may think street pastors will become targets for anti-social behaviour themselves but in fact as a number of inner city police forces have found to their surprise – they are a calming influence.

Co-ordinator for Cheshire West, the Rev Trevor Beckett said: “We believe we bring elements of peace to the streets. A good example is if there has been an incident and people react with shock we offer reassurance, we help people talk and listen to them.”

MP Christine Russell has expressed concern at the Chester that changes personality at night and the Street Pastors will be thrust into some unnerving scenarios but they have the faith and the training to cope.

Mr Beckett said: “Time must be spent in the early days talking with police, council, churches and wide range of other partners, before recruiting and training of pastors even begins. A detailed training programme which draws on the expertise of other partners offers reassurance. So it takes about a year to get to the position of launching but the groundwork is absolutely essential.

“I had known of the work of Street Pastors for three years and knowing how different Chester can be at night from the daytime it offers a way of ministering which is tried and tested in other areas. I have also spent time with both Wrexham and Moss Side Street pastors and have received a great deal of help from their co-ordinators in setting up in Cheshire West.

“That said there will still be many doubters and it is up to us to ensure we are reliable and consistent in putting teams on the streets each week. If we do that, we will be respected and welcomed.

One of the watchwords for the pastors is approachability, they are welcoming to people of all walks of life facing all kinds of situations.

Mr Beckett explained: “Firstly, before we go onto the streets we meet together for prayer. Our focus will be on everyone we will meet and all who work in the night-time economy of Chester.”

He added: “One issue we tend to deal with on a regular basis is young women who have been separated from their friends, end up lost or disoriented and we help them and make sure they get home safely.

The new local authority, Visit Chester and Cheshire and Chester Renaissance are working to make the city a must-see European destination by 2015 and the pastors will play a part in making the streets more welcoming at night.

The team will be putting patrols on the streets in Chester every Friday from 10pm-4am starting on September 26 and will start in Ellesmere Port in March 2009.