Camberley Street Angels

Heavenly initiative for Camberley town centre

The Camberley Street Angels scheme, set up by Churches Together in Camberley with support from the Safer Surrey Heath Partnership, involves groups of volunteers being out and about in the town centre on Fridays between 10pm and 3am offering a calming presence and practical support to people in need.

Wearing distinctive jackets, Street Angels carry items to assist anyone who may be having a problem. Among practical things such as plasters for blisters, foil blankets for the lightly dressed facing a long walk home in the wet, and flip flops for girls with sore feet, they will also have lollipops which can be popular with revellers. Volunteers are happy to spend time talking with people and are able to advise of specialist agencies who can provide ongoing assistance if required.

Street Angels work with the support of, and in partnership with, other agencies working in the town centre at night and are linked by radio with each other, the team base, CCTV and the police. Volunteers must be over 18, have been Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checked, interviewed and trained specifically for the role by specialist agencies in areas such as personal safety, listening skills, cultural awareness, drugs and alcohol awareness, child protection and working with the emergency services.

Borough Inspector James Norbury said: "Street Angels is a fantastic way of enabling people who care about others to do just that. Working alongside officers from our neighbourhood policing team, Street Angels have the ability to make a positive impact on antisocial behaviour in Camberley town centre. For instance, the Angels will take care of intoxicated people who police officers might otherwise have to look after - freeing us to deal with more serious offences."

The Street Angels scheme was pioneered in Halifax, Leeds, in 2005 and where similar schemes have been introduced (such as Street Pastors) these have had a positive impact on crime and anti-social behaviour. Street Angels have been operating in Guildford town centre since October 2008; a comparison of the six months before and after the scheme started showed a five per cent drop in violence against the person on a Friday night in Guildford town centre (source: Safer Guildford Partnership).

Also supporting Camberley Street Angels is the Camberley Town Centre Partnership, which has funded five radios for the volunteers to use.