united kingdom " "
When they see the blue jackets of the British navy emblazoned with the name “Street Pastor”, the vandals of Southend on Sea, a town on the south coast of England, stop beating people up and immediately accept a cup of hot tea and a chat. In this way criminality and violence have been brought under control. For almost a year now the “street-pastors” have patrolled the streets of the town on Friday and Saturday evenings. Sometimes it’s enough for hooligans to see the distinctive blue jacket to make them abandon their target, while the homeless gladly accept a plate of soup and a glass of wine. The group of pastors who have taken to the streets are in telephone contact with another group based in a church. According to police superintendent Steve Currell of Southend on Sea, the secret of the street pastors is the very informality of their approach, because it’s obvious that juvenile delinquents more readily enter into contact with them than with a policeman, explains Currell who is also a pastor of the Baptist church in the town. It was he who, after he had seen the “street pastors” at work in Lewisham, a suburb in South London, contacted them to see whether they would also intervene in Southend on Sea. Their presence is funded by Essex Police and by the local town council.
