Street Pastors: Commissioning and our first night on Oxford’s Streets

blog.jpgWhat an exciting night!  I was commissioned along with around a dozen other Oxford Street Pastors yesterday evening and New Road Baptist Church.  We were addressed by DCI Colin Paine of Thames Valley Police and by Revd Paul Rush of the Ascension Trust, that sets up each Street Pastors Scheme.  I’m pictured here with Ruth Wilson, a member of St. Columba’s United Reformed Church, like me.  There were people from many local churches and denominations being inducted as Street Pastors.  Rob and Gemma Winn from Wesley Memorial Church have worked very hard in setting up the scheme and we are very honoured to have Pearl Lewis from the Salvation Army as our coordinator.

We started at 10pm and walked around Cornmarket Street, George Street, Park End Street, Hythe Bridge Street, Frideswide Square and St. Ebbes.  We met and spoke to lots of people.  Many were just interested in what we were doing, some wanted to know where to find a cab, a few women had tired feet and had taken their shoes off and so were grateful for the Street Pastors flip-flops that we were handing out.  One group of us got into a really deep conversation with someone about problems at home and were the first people this person had felt able to talk to about it.   We picked up quite a few glass bottles off the street and put them in bins thereby reducing the likelihood of their causing injury or being used as weapons.    We spoke to quite a few homeless people who seemed genuinely pleased of the conversation and attention. There were some humbling stories.

I think we successfully stopped a fight from happening by going up and chatting to a group of young men who I think had had one to many drinks.  Street Pastors is not about breaking up fights – that the Police’s job – but it is amazing the effect seeing a person wearing a clear Street Pastors uniform has on people.  They want to chat and their aggression just seems to evaporate.  Quite the opposite reaction that people unfortunately sometimes have to the Police.

Towards the end of our session we met a very drunk young man who couldn’t stand up and was rather ill.  We helped him, giving him water, and making sure his friends knew how to look after him and were not going to leave him.   We finished around 3.45am after an incredibly rewarding evening.  I can’t wait to go out again!

We were really grateful for the support of Karen Crossan, Oxford City Council’s nightsafe manager; and of Thames Valley Police for being so friendly and supportive.  You may ask why I am writing about this in my council blog.  Well apart from the fact that most of our pastoring happens in my ward, Carfax, I think doing things in the community, whether they be as a response to faith or not, is very important for councillors if we are to stay in touch with our constituents.

On a theological note, I think that doing things together with other denominations of Christians is extremely important and is absolutely the way we grow together in common understanding of our calling.  Sure – we have differences of opinion on some things but I think we are all agreed that we are called to share God’s love, care and listening with all those we meet on the streets in our 10pm-4am sessions.

A walk around the ward with PC Paul Phillips

I met with PC Paul Phillips today and we had a walk around Carfax Ward.  Paul’s been policing this area for 8 years now and clearly knows lots of people and is generally accepted and liked in the neighbourhood.

28062010698.jpgWe talked about issues which include homelessness, drug dealing and binge drinking.  It was good to see Paul being firm but fair and polite with people being antisocial in the streets and we came across a couple of worries.  These were the £2 per pint of Stella all day at one pub and the complete blocking of the fire exit of another by a parked car – despite the sign!

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City Centre Neighbourhood Action Group

This is somewhat of a gathering of the great and the good but useful nonetheless.  It is a Thames Valley Police initiative and includes councillors, council officers (including Ben Smith, Neighbourhood Policing Coordinator Community Housing & Community Development; Karen Crossan, Nightsafe Manager; Julian Allison from licensing; and Linda Jones, Estate Manager for Tenancy Services for Central Oxford), and several from Thames Valley Police.   Representatives from OUSU also attended.

We discussed the City Cente Situational Report which shows that most crime in the City Centre has reduced rather pleasingly.  Graffit was a bit on the rise and this would be looked at.

The OUSU reps, Eorann Lean and Kat Wall, also presented an excellent report about Student night-time safety which highlighted a few areas of concern that Thames Valley Police agreed to work on.  According to the survey, which was responded to by 148 students, the current challenges are as follows:

  • 41.6% leave clubs and pubs alone more often than not
  • 43.5% walk alone in the city centre at night more often than not
  • 38.9% walk beyond the immediate city centre at night
  • 48.4% never call a friend if they realise they will be walking alone in the dark
  • 33.3% sometimes feel threatened, 7.1% most times feel threatened (although 49.2% say they rarely feel threatened when out at night)
  • 7.9% sometimes have been threatened when out at night/54% never been threatened or harassed when out at night/37.3% rarely

Criminalising people a success?

I’ve just read a City Council Press release entitled “Successful Prosecutions for Littering in the Citnewscleanergreeneroxfordlogo.jpgy Centre”.  I’m afraid to say that I don’t really see prosecution and issuing of fines as a success, more as a failure.  Surely the objective here is to make the City Centre tidier – not turn people into criminals?  Now I’m not for a minute condoning littering and I entirely support holding people to account for their actions but wouldn’t it have been much better to make the offenders take part in a City Centre clean-up / litter pick rather than just fining them?  I think that would have a much more positive effect on their future behaviour and would be a success in terms of tidying up the City.

Maybe I’m just too Liberal?  But it would have been nice to see a more positive headline than this.

Street Pastors training

I’d actuallyspastor2.jpg started this before being elected.  I am quite excited about it for two reasons:

1.  As an active Christian I believe we are called to take the love and care of Christ to people wherever they are.  This is a great opportunity to do that.
2. As a Carfax Councillor it will really help me to keep in touch with what happens in my ward during the small hours.

We were given a huge amount of useful information about drugs and alcohol and how they affect people we might be assisting as Street Pastors.  There are two more evening sessions to attend and then I’ll have attended all sessions bar one which I will have to catch up with as I was in Cornwall last weekend.

Student night-time safety issues meeting

Just had a useful meeting with two VPs from OUSU (Eorann Lean, and Katherine Wall).  City Council staff including Karen Crossan, Nightsafe Manager, attended as did Thames Valley Police.

We discussed issues around student safety; perceived as well as actual threat; street lighting (particularly on Magdalen Bridge and Norham Gardens); the Safety Bus (which has had some less than ideal press coverage) and various other issues.

Attendance at the City Centre Neighbourhood Action group was important and it is good that there will be more student representation now that the OUSU person for that role has more time dedicated to safety.