Street Pastors receive top award
South Wales Police, Church leaders, volunteers and Bridgend County Borough Council joined forces last year to launch the ‘Street Pastors’ scheme to tackle issues within Bridgend Town Centre during the busy evenings of the weekends, when the streets are at their most volatile.
A year on the scheme has been honoured with the South Wales Police Partnership Award, for its fantastic work within the community.
The scheme was originally set up in Bridgend by HopeBaptistChurch minister Reverend Mark Thomas, who became interested in the scheme after hearing of its many successes elsewhere in the country.
Superintendent Tim Jones fully supports the scheme and is proud of the work they have achieved in a year. “Street pastors have been able to work alongside the Police successfully, allowing for many issues to be solved by just talking, which can sometimes divert unnecessary violence and save vital police time, allowing our officers to attend other incidents”.
To build on the success of the Bridgend Town Centre Scheme, Reverend Mark Thomas is looking at ways to roll out the Street Pastors to other areas of the Borough.