Devon Street Pastors praised by police chief

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer opened the third annual Devon and Cornwall Street Pastor Conference by thanking team members for their incredible contribution on behalf of the police and every person they had helped.

The conference, held at Middlemoor Police HQ, was led by ex-Met officer Nick Cornish from the national Street Pastor charity Ascension Trust and supported by Devon and Cornwall Christian Police Association.

Twenty of the 23 teams operating across the two counties were represented amongst the 55 delegates. They had presentations from PCSO Steve Edser about human trafficking and from Mick McDonnell about the Best Bar None initiative, as well as updates from Ascension Trust about national developments.

There was discussion about local issues such as the use of legal highs and how things were going in each area including how well supported teams are by the local police, their own churches and other agencies. It was a day of encouragement and sharing good practice with the majority of teams feeling stronger than 12 months earlier.

Street Pastors and School Pastors are volunteers from local churches that are trained to patrol local schools and more widely the night-time economy areas of communities simply providing help and support to those who are vulnerable and at risk of harm at their point of need.

Across the force area, more than 600 trained pastors supported by nearly 300 prayer pastors, are delivering annually an astonishing 40000hours of visible patrol at the very time of the week when police resources are most stretched.

The longest serving teams have been operating since 2008 including Torbay where they have 90 trained pastors operating and have provided 35,577 hours of support in 692 nights of patrol.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said: “Devon and Cornwall Street Pastors continue to amaze me and my colleagues day on day, year on year. Street pastors combine belief and compassion with practicality and common sense in a non-judgmental way.

“Their selfless and caring dedication to people they do not know and often never meet again, is essential in our keeping vulnerable people safe. This is evidenced time and again where the timely intervention and support of street pastors saves lives and often goes on to transform lives positively.

“It is the things they do that you do not see that make the difference; calming the violent, distressed and out of control, reuniting people with their friends or property and much more; all of which keeps people safe and allows my officers and staff time to focus on other aspects of policing.

“I place on record again that without street pastors working alongside us in the night-time economy and increasingly other times of the day, we would be stretched to capacity more and more often.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg, who had spent the previous night on patrol with pastors in Exeter, was also present and said: “Street Pastors from across Devon and Cornwall are doing a tremendous job and I was delighted to be able to attend the conference and to join pastors in Exeter on patrol the night before.

"They give so much to our communities and it was really interesting to hear their views on key issues and to be able to thank them for all the help and support they give to vulnerable people out in our town and city centres at night. Thank you again for all that you do.”

Nick Cornish said: “The Devon and Cornwall team are inspirational not least in terms of how they relate together and support one another so effectively on a regional basis. It is great to see team leaders re-energised by the day as so many said they were.

“The support the teams get from their local policing teams is key to them being able to support policing most effectively and it is really appreciated.”