Source (The Guardian)
On Mad Friday and New Year’s Eve, Inspector Phil Spurgeon will again be on the streets, looking after more than 100,000 people celebrating in Manchester. Inspector Spurgeon helped the Manchester Street Angels to launch and has supported the work of Bolton Street Angels when he was posted in Bolton. What do you do and when will you be at work over the holidays? I’m one of four police inspectors in Manchester’s city centre neighbourhood policing team. As I still have a young family – my youngest is five – Christmas is important to me and I’ll be at home with my family on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. We do try and look after each other on our team; we try to create Christmas off for those with kids. I’ll be working on Mad Friday, 19 December, the busiest Friday night of the year in the city centre, and on New Year’s Eve. I’m not the only inspector in the city centre, but working on New Year’s Eve comes with the territory. I’ll be clocking on at 7pm and will work through to 6am. It’s flat out, so there’s no formal break - there isn’t time. But I get a break over Christmas; I don’t need anyone to get a hanky out for me. What’s Mad Friday all about? Mad Friday is the last Friday before Christmas. People have finished work and the city is awash with people on works dos and a lot of people get paid early for Christmas, so put all that in the mix and you get Mad Friday. We’ve got more than 500 licensed premises in 2.2 sq miles, and it’s always more than 100,000 people, so it’s hard. The Manchester Evening News came out with us last year and got some gruesome pics. Who do you work with? I work with our neighbourhood policing team; this weekend and on New Year’s Eve we’ll have a team of at least 100 officers on the street, most of them on foot, in yellow jackets, in areas where we know we’ll be busy. We also have specialist resources, including our mounted officers and tactical aid unit (don’t call them the riot police). We deal with absolutely everything, other than the most serious crime. But this isn’t just about a police operation. Bar staff and door supervisors do a really good job of preventing a lot of the trouble. It’s a huge partnership. We’ve got the council CCTV room and the council provides taxi marshals, and there are a number of street angels – volunteers who go out in teams and look after vulnerable people – including the Village Angels, provided by the Lesbian and Gay Foundation and the Manchester Street Angels. They go out in teams. If someone’s lost a heel off a shoe, they provide flip-flops, or a mobile phone battery, or if someone’s got separated from their friends, they’ll get them a taxi. What are the busiest times of the New Year’s Eve shift? There’s that incredibly busy period from 11:30pm to 1am when people are moving to or from bars or the public display in Piccadilly Gardens. Other than that we typically see a shift at 2 or 3am from what I call happy drunk to nasty drunk and that becomes very challenging because we will have lost resources as we’ve been making arrests and dealing with victims, and we’re managing people who have become more vulnerable and more aggressive. We’ll still be on foot in the city centre at six in the morning. How busy will the Christmas period be for those on duty? We will have a limited number of staff on duty on Christmas Day and we’ll bring in extra on Boxing Day. We’re not expecting a rerun of the nonsense we saw here on Black Friday, when we made eight arrests. We’re not expecting Boxing Day to generate that kind of frenzy. But Boxing Day is a little unusual this year because it’s on a Friday. We would normally have a limited number of staff out on a bank holiday, but we’ve got Boxing Day sales, Manchester United versus Newcastle at 3pm and then a lot of people, especially young people, who will want to come out rather than playing charades with their families! So we’re running a full night-time economy operation on Boxing Day night. What’s the worst thing about working over the holidays? The hardest thing is not to become jaundiced by seeing people at their worst. It’s about vulnerability, victims and villains and I have to remind the staff that 99.9% of people who come out are decent. Our job is to look after them and get them home safely and stop that 0.1% spoiling things. One New Year’s Eve, as on all weekends, 99.9% of people will come out and have a great time and get home safely. And the best thing? Because we are out on the streets we will talk to people, especially on New Year’s Eve, and have positive interactions. Manchester is a fantastic place to live and work. I’ve been here 20 years now and I’m incredibly fortunate. We’re based in the town hall now as part of our integrated neighbourhood work, with council staff working in our offices. So if we have a nuisance with licensing or noise, we can have that conversation with colleagues across the desk. And I’m literally looking out at our Christmas market. What’s your biggest worry this Christmas time? Everybody is struggling with shrinking resources, us and our partners. Demand is going up, but resources are shrinking. The reality is that our force is going from 8,000 officers to 6,000 officers, and we send our community officers out with a radio and a stab vest and not a lot else. We’re here to look after the public and ourselves and sometimes that’s a struggle. And your favourite time of the year? Summer. I like summer because Manchester is a great city and it’s even more alive in the summer. Piccadilly Gardens, which I manage, is a challenge for many reasons, but on a warm summer’s day with thousands of people having lunch and enjoying being out – that’s good. It would be good to get this #StaySafe advice in local media on Friday (Mad / Black / Bruise Friday) to help people have a safe night out...
Just a few stay safe tips for staying safe this Mad Friday and over the rest of the Christmas period:
If in doubt find the Street Angels / Town Pastors / Street Chaplains / NightLight / Street Pastors volunteers who will offer help and support or a Police officer or ask the door-staff. Have a safe Mad Friday (and Christmas / New Year / 2015) night out... Source
One in five attendances at leeds accident and emergency departments over the weekend are due to the impact of alcohol. Katie Baldwin and Laura Bowyer report. ONE in five attendances at Leeds’s accident and emergency departments over the weekend are due to alcohol, new figures show. A survey by a city doctor also found that a third of the men going to the Leeds General Infirmary unit between Friday and Sunday were there because of the impacts of booze. In total, 20 per cent of visits were alcohol-related, with the highest at LGI, where it was almost a quarter of attendances. At nearby St James’s Hospital, it was slightly lower at 15 per cent. The shocking statistics have been revealed as the Yorkshire Evening Post begins a week-long series warning people to stay safe while they take advantage of the city’s bustling night scene in the run up to Christmas. Dr Dafydd Hammond-Jones, a specialist trainee in emergency medicine, carried out the survey involving nearly 1,000 patients over a weekend in September in Leeds. He said that the numbers of those coming to hospital because of alcohol affected hospitals: “We have got lots of patients coming in. “If they [the alcohol-related attendances] were not there, there would be less pressure.” Dr Hammond-Jones, who is now working at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, said the reasons for people attending because of the impact of alcohol were varied. “At Leeds General Infirmary it was primarily injuries and at St James’s Hospital there was more alcohol intoxication,” he said. “Overall 47 per cent were injuries and 33 per cent was because of intoxication, while 13 per cent was mental health-related.” Overall, two-thirds of the A&E attendances because of alcohol involved men, with more men than women visiting the LGI. Younger people made up most of the visits at both hospitals, with the greatest numbers of patients aged between 16 and 20 and the vast majority under the age 40. The busiest time for booze-related attendances was between midnight at 7am and a quarter of those going to A&E at St James’s were admitted, with the figure at 17 per cent at the LGI. Stephen Bush, clinical director of Urgent Care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals added: “The large numbers of people we’re seeing attending with alcohol-related conditions adds extra pressure to our emergency departments and NHS services in the city. “We see lots of people waiting in A&E with injuries and illnesses caused by alcohol which could have been avoided drinking a little bit less. “With one in five people attending with a condition related to alcohol, according to a recent audit, clinicians at St James’s and the LGI would really like to reinforce the message of being alcohol aware. “We want to encourage people to think before you drink; consider your safety on a night out and be aware of the volumes of alcohol you are consuming. “It’s much better for people to drink in moderation, have a good time and get home in one piece, rather than spend the night with us in accident and emergency.” Nationally, alcohol is believed to cost the NHS £4bn a year and booze-related deaths have more than doubled in the last 10 years. In Leeds, there are over 17,000 dependent drinkers and 35,000 people whose drinking puts them at high risk. In 2011, the Yorkshire Evening Post revealed that the cost of alcohol-related incidents and illnesses had cost the city £438m in one year. And the following year it was reported that children as young as eight had needed hospital treatment in Leeds because of booze, with under 18s making up 2.5 per cent of alcohol-related hospital admissions in the city. West Yorkshire Police have today also revealed they are preparing for a spike in arrests relating to alcohol on one of the busiest days of the city’s night-time calendar known as “Mad Friday”. The night is often the last pay day before Christmas and is a popular time for office workers to celebrate the start of the festive period. Last year police officers made 29 arrests in the city centre on Friday, December 20. It is believed that 10 of those arrests were for made for drunk and disorderly offences. But statistics reveal that on the previous Friday police made just FOUR arrests for drunk and disorderly behaviour. West Yorkshire Police have teamed up with a number of agencies as part of their Operation Champion blitz over Christmas. Taxi marshals, door staff, the Street Angels, Businesses Against Crime in Leeds and Yorkshire Ambulance Service have joined forces to provide a co-ordinated response to ensure that people enjoy a safe night out in the city centre over Christmas. Whether it is helping to signpost crowds, disperse anti-social behaviour or help revellers who are a little worse for wear they hope that by teaming up they will be able to offer support and advice to people who are accessing the city at a night time. And West Yorkshire Police hope that early intervention will prevent people from being admitted to the city’s accident and emergency departments as well as decreasing the number of arrests made for drunk and disorderly behaviour. Yorkshire Ambulance Service has warned it is due to see a “significant influx” of calls due to alcohol-related incidents. Dr David Macklin, interim executive director of operations at the Trust, said: “The service has received hundreds of 999 calls for seasonal-related illnesses and incidents. “We are treating a lot of patients with breathing difficulties as a result of cold and viruses. “As we approach a busy weekend of pre-Christmas celebrations and office parties we expect there to be a significant influx of calls to alcohol-related incidents. These calls are in addition to other medical emergencies such as injuries from road traffic collisions, heart attacks and strokes. “While many people do use our emergency service appropriately, some callers could be helped by other more appropriate health care services. “We would ask people who are out and about to be conscious of how much they are drinking, eat beforehand and make sure they plan ahead for transport home. “We would like to thank members of the public for their support during this challenging period.” Councillor Mark Dobson, Leeds City Council’s executive member for cleaner, stronger and safer communities, said the authority is expecting hundreds of thousands of people to access the city centre during the run up to Christmas. He said: “Leeds is a great place to access on an evening. “It has a fantastic offer and we want people to come in and enjoy the festive period. “There will be many thousands of people accessing the city over Christmas. “We want the vast majority of those to have a great experience and go home safely. “A few mistakes on a night out could have terrible consequences for other people as well as for yourself. “You do have a duty to yourself and to other people about how you behave when you are visiting the city.” Coun Dobson added: “Accident and emergency services are under incredible strain. “It should be that last resort and not a first port of call.” Happy Christmas!
The core of CNI Network is our volunteers! The amazing teams of volunteers who give up time and energy (and warm beds) for others and communities at night. Christmas is a time when we remember that God has moved into the neighbourhood - including our communities at night! Its a time of year when we especially remember that there is love, peace, hope, purpose, forgiveness, change and new direction available to each and every one of us. These are all what our amazing teams of volunteers bring and it is an approach that works. Love the person in front of you; be a visible presence (with lollipops) that brings peace into possible conflict; be the hope that means the issue and problem will be sorted out; wander the streets with purpose and share that every person we meet has a purpose in life; offer forgiveness - to those who, through drink, say things against us but also between friends who have fallen out; see change in individuals and the community we serve - measured by reduced crime and A&E admissions; see our town and city centres take on new directions as we engage with the night-time economy. CNI Network is a massive family of projects, of ideas, of people, committed to seeing the meaning of Christmas a reality week in week out year round. Thank you to every single person who volunteers, to those who support financially, to those who pray, to those who partner with us. We wish you a happy, peaceful, joyful and amazing Christmas! God bless Paul and Jean Blakey CNI Network Source
A "SAFE haven" for drunks and vulnerable people will open on the streets of Middlesbrough tonight FRI,DEC12 in an attempt to stop the town's Accident and Emergency services being misused. The NHS and Middlesbrough Borough Council have provided £50,000 each to pay for the scheme for a year and its hoped the programme will reduce escalating A&E costs at James Cook University Hospital. A survey in February at the hospital's A&E unit showed that 39 per cent of the 75 per cent of patients who agreed to talk had been drinking or had alcoholic-related problems the point where professional intervention was necessary. However the survey by the Hospital Intervention and Liaison Team, funded by Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland Councils and the NHS, also found another 47 drunk patients were in A&E but had no need for any clinical assistance at all on what was a quiet weekend. The Safe Haven team, which will also offer help to vulnerable people who have lost their friends, will run the service from 11pm to 5am on Friday and Saturday nights. There will be two medics, three substance misuse workers from the Lifeline charity and a specially trained security man. Very basic medical support, including bandaging, will be available. For the first few weeks the 'shelter' will be in what would be an otherwise unused ambulances and a council vehicle on Corporation Road but eventually the team will move to a dedicated area 48, Albert Road. It will also provide a base for the Boro Angels, volunteer street pastors who also provide help to drinkers. Public health workers at Middlesbrough council have worked with counterparts already running a similar project in Newcastle which was established by Police Commissioner Vera Baird after a drunk teenage girl was thrown out of a nightclub and raped by two men. However Jonathan Bowden, commissioning manager of Public Health and Wellbeing at Middlesbrough council, stressed that the Middlesbrough version was primarily about public health and safety and freeing up A&E professionals to deal with genuine emergencies. He said: "People have a perception of Middlesbrough town centre as being violent, but it's not really any more, there's a lot of myth making. Not that there aren't incidents, but the data shows there's just not the same number of fights as there may have been ten years ago. This is about safety really and preventing more people from clogging up the accident and emergency system.." Similar havens, or drunk tanks, already exist in Sunderland and York. Source
CHRISTMAS shoppers and partygoers are being warned of freezing weather this weekend. Temperatures are expected to plunge below freezing today, prompting the Met Office to issue a level two cold weather alert. Forecasters have said, once windchill is factored in, it could feel as cold as -5C. This weekend is expected to be one of the busiest times for the city's pubs and nightclubs as thousands of people celebrate the festive season. Karen Marshall, chair of Hull Trinity Street Angels, who helps those who become vulnerable on Friday and Saturday evenings, said: "In the build-up to Christmas, it does get busier with Christmas parties and people venture out not wanting to cover their pretty dresses in a big coat. "The Street Angels do carry foil safety blankets, but I would encourage people to take a coat. Take an extra quid with you and then you can put it in a cloakroom." Dr Stephen Morton, Public Health England centre director in this region, is urging people to make sure they stay warm. "Cold does kill, even in places where the temperatures aren't at their lowest," he said. "Our advice is that when indoors, have plenty of warm food and drinks to stay warm and try to maintain indoor temperatures to at least 18C, particularly if you are not mobile, have long-term illness or are 65 or over. "If you need to go out, wear lots of thin layers and shoes with a slip-resistant grip to prevent any accidental falls." Both East Riding and Hull City Councils' gritting teams say they are prepared for the cold weather. Councillor Martin Mancey, Hull City Council's portfolio holder with responsibility of the city's roads, said: "Our dedicated streetscene team monitor the weather on a daily basis and act as and when needed to ensure our roads and footpaths are accessible and safe for pedestrians and motorists." Nigel Leighton, director of environment and neighbourhood services at East Riding Council, said: "The council has been preparing for winter since the summer and has full salt stocks at its barns, with orders in place to replenish these as supplies are used. "We advise motorists to drive to the conditions, allow extra time and stay on treated roads, wherever possible." The winter period also places additional pressure on hospital services. Earlier this week, Hull Royal Infirmary saw a rise in the number of people having to be admitted to hospital. Jonathan Wood, operations director for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "To ensure we can concentrate on the very sickest and most vulnerable patients, we ask for everyone's co-operation throughout the winter and urge them to explore local alternatives for healthcare advice and treatment." Redeeming Our Communities charity is ten years old with over 150 projects nationwide and a proven track record in community transformation acclaimed by statutory authorities, public services and local councils. This conference will equip you to reach out to your local community, with effective and well tested projects, and give practical help with all you need to make it happen including; funding, working with statutory authorities, community asset transfer, how to start and maintain a project, recruiting and training volunteers. You will have the opportunity to visit our new state of the art HQ and hear the story of how it all came about and what has happened since we moved in! Friday 12th and Saturday 13th June 2015 Tickets are £45 per person
including buffet tea and drinks on Friday and lunch on Saturday. Take advantage of our £35 early bird offer if you book before January 30th. Please book early to avoid disappointment. A full conference programme will be released in the New Year. It’s time to stop sexual harassment on drunken nights out this Christmas
With the Christmas party season upon us, alcohol education charity Drinkaware highlights the extent of sexual harassment and assault that young people experience on drunken nights out. At a time of year when most people expect to drink more than usual, the charity warns that being drunk is never an excuse for sexually harassing or assaulting people. This criminal behaviour should not be tolerated. It would seem that many young adults may not be surprised if some people use the festive season as an excuse to behave in an intimidating way. In a survey of 18-24 year olds conducted for Drinkaware by ICM**, nearly a third of young women (31%) aged 18-24 say they received inappropriate or unwanted physical attention or touching on a drunken night out. More than a quarter (27%) say they have put up with inappropriate sexual comments or abuse on a drunken night out but less than a fifth (19%) of these young women say they were surprised to find themselves in this situation. Most of the young people (66%) we spoke to said that persistent unwanted sexual attention ruins a good night out. Young women who experienced this told us that it left them feeling disgusted (69%), they also reported feeling anger (56%) and fear (38% ). In an initiative to address alcohol fuelled sexual harassment on nights out, Drinkaware and the Nottingham Crime & Drugs Partnership (NCDP) are running an innovative campaign to tackle this. The initiative, which is part of the Home Office’s Local Alcohol Action Areas, sees new ‘Club hosts’ working in venues in Nottingham and Mansfield to look after young people who are being sexually or physically harassed. It is their job to work inside pubs and clubs to help ensure any issues of anti-social behaviour are stopped before they escalate. The project also involves an advertising campaign across Nottinghamshire, in cinemas, online and in venues, using the strap line, ‘You wouldn’t sober, you shouldn’t drunk.’**. Elaine Hindal, CEO of Drinkaware, says: “Young adults tell us that groping and sexual comments are commonplace on nights out. Touching another person in a sexual way without their consent is legally defined as sexual assault. It’s a criminal offence and being drunk is no excuse for it. Worse still, it can be a precursor to more violent behaviour. If you wouldn’t do it when you’re sober, you shouldn’t do it when you’re drunk.” Paddy Tipping, Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire says: “I support the Drinkaware campaign because I would like young women to be treated with respect when they go on a night out. That means not being touched up or harassed. Young men wouldn’t behave in this way in the daylight hours so they shouldn’t do it at night time. I’ve got two daughters and I want them and other young women to go out and have a good time and feel safe.” Young men are not exempt from sexual harassment on drunken nights out. One in ten (11%) of those questioned say they received inappropriate or unwanted physical attention or touching on a drunken night out. This is despite over half (58%) of the young adults surveyed saying would be surprised if a male friend was on the receiving end of inappropriate sexual comments or abuse. The young men surveyed also highlighted other negative effects of drunken nights out. They were more likely than women to say they had experienced having a sexual encounter they regretted (14%), getting into a fight (12%) and passing out in a public place (10%). One in ten men also admitted that they had been unsure whether they have had sex on a drunken night out. It is hoped that the Nottingham scheme will encourage people to question their own behaviour when drunk and reduce instances of sexually aggressive behaviour on nights out. The campaign will be evaluated in the New Year and if proven to be successful, it is hoped that it could be rolled out nationally. Say thank you to your local police, ambulance, fire service, partners, etc - take in a box of chocolates and attach this card - your local details could be included on the back. Here is the JPG's and PDF versions... ![]()
A new book telling the story of Street Angels as it has expanded across the UK and Spain has been published as a paperback.
'Street Angels - the amazing story from binge to better' was written and compiled by Paul Blakey MBE and tells the story of the launch of Halifax Street Angels, the expansion through CNI (Christian Nightlife Initiatives) Network and stories of changed communities and changed lives from over thirty local projects. Paul says, "This book is a collection of amazing stories from across the UK and Spain and is a great example of the way volunteers from churches and communities are helping change a culture." The Bishop of Wakefield, Right Reverend Tony Robinson, patron of CNI Network, writes in the foreword, "Much of the news we hear about night life in our towns and cities is about unsocial behaviour and violence. So it is heartening to be able to read this story which, though not in any way diminishing the impact of harsh realities, tells of faith, hope and love." The book, priced at £7.99, is available on-line as well as at a number of retailers, see www.sa-cni.org.uk/book . The book is also available as an eBook on Kindle, Google Play and as a PDF. Source
STREET Angels are being heralded by Cleveland Police for helping revellers. More than 100 volunteers give up their time on Fridays and Saturdays across Teesside.There are now Street Angels projects in Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Stockton, Redcar and Guisborough. During the last year they have handed out more than 800 free flip-flops to women struggling to walk in heels and 400 hot drinks, recovered more than 4,500 bottles, put 76 vulnerable people in taxis, given first aid to 167 people and put in more than 6,500 volunteer hours. An event is being held by Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Barry Coppinger, and Cleveland Chief Constable, Jacqui Cheer, to celebrate their work. Mr Coppinger said: “The work which they do assists the police and other emergency services immensely, and in many cases they are able to resolve issues without the need for additional assistance from core services, thereby enabling the police and other emergency services to focus where they are most needed. Steve Brock, Project Manager for Stockton Town Pastors and Regional Coordinator for Street Angels - Christian Nightlife Initiatives, added: “It is tremendous news that Cleveland's Police and Crime Commissioner has chosen to say thank you to all who are involved in local projects.” |
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ROC Angels - an initiative of ROC (Redeeming Our Communities)
Charity - 1139817 / Registered Company - 7327258 Postal Address: ROC Angels, c/o The King's Centre, Park Rd, Halifax, HX1 2TS E-Mail: [email protected] (founder / CEO) / Phone: 07725501465 |