Hampshire’s Police & Crime Commissioner has announced the award of a grant to help fund the work of Basingstoke Street Pastors in keeping people safe at night and reducing anti-social behaviour.
“Through my Safer Communities Fund, I am pleased to support and invest in Basingstoke Street Pastors, an organisation that helps to keep people in Basingstoke safer,” said Police & Crime Commissioner Michael Lane.
Street Pastors patrol the town every Friday and Saturday night, working in partnership with venue owners, their staff and the police. They are there to care, help and listen and be available to support anyone in need of assistance which can include:
- helping those who have had too much to drink;
- providing first aid and first on-scene support;
- calming and diffusing potentially aggressive or volatile situations;
- supporting vulnerable people.
In the ten years since the town’s Street Pastors started work, over 1,500 situations have been calmed and 2,250 vulnerable people supported. Over 8,000 pairs of flip flops have been distributed to female revellers to protect their bare feet, and 14,000 bottles and broken glasses have been recovered.
Hampshire Independent, 29 March 2019
Phil Thomas, Chair of Basingstoke Street Pastors and Michael Lane, Police & Crime Commissioner for Hampshire