Agenda item

To receive a presentation on the work of the Camberley Street Angels.

Karen Kendall gave a presentation in respect of Camberley Street Angels, a voluntary group set up to provide assistance to members of the public after the pubs and clubs in Camberley town centre had shut.

Camberley Street Angels was a voluntary group which operated under the umbrella of Churches Together Camberley.  All volunteers were subject to Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) checks and received training and ongoing support to help them with their role.  The organisation worked in collaboration with Surrey Police, South East Ambulance Service, the Camberley Town Centre Management Team, Pub Watch and door staff.  The service operated on Friday and Saturday nights between the hours of 10.30pm and 3am. With volunteers working in mixed sex pairs to ensure that people were kept safe, that people got home safely and to help prevent people getting criminal records as a result of any actions committed whilst intoxicated; actions that enabled the police to focus on more serious matters.

Arising from Members’ questions and comments the following points were noted:

·         The age of volunteers ranged from mid-twenties to mid-eighties.  However the majority of volunteers were aged between 55 and 65 years old.

·         When Camberley Street Angels was originally set up it had been a requirement that all volunteers had to provide a reference from a church leader however changes had been made to enable volunteers to be drawn from a wider cross section of the Community.

·         Volunteers carried police radios and were able to communicate directly with the police, door staff and the CCTV control centre in Woking.

·         All outgoings were funded by the Churches allied to Churches Together Camberley.

·         If there was any risk of violence then volunteers would call the police and withdraw from the situation.  However it was rare for volunteers to experience direct threats.

·         Although the group was well supported more female volunteers were needed.

·         A recent incident had cumulated in an ambulance struggling to access the High Street.  It was agreed that this would be followed up with South East Coast Ambulance Service to ensure that all paramedics and ambulance staff were aware that they needed to access the High Street from the bottom of the High Street on Friday and Saturday nights.

·         Councillors were welcome to come along on a patrol to see the service in action.

It was acknowledged that the decrease in police presence on the street was impacting on the service provided by Camberley Street Angels and it was agreed that the matter would be followed up with the Police.

The Committee thanked Karen Kendall for her informative presentation and commended the Group for the work they did.