Arun Angels Commissioning Service

Derek Baker - Arun Angels Co-ordinator

Arun Angels took ‘flight’ with this dedicated church service to launch the new late night initiative called Arun Angels. The Angels are small team of volunteers who will care for and provide practical support for anyone who might find themselves vulnerable after a night out. The Arun Angels will be in Bognor Regis town centre on Saturdays from around 9pm to 3am from 5th December onwards. They will work with the police, door staff and taxi marshals and their role will include responding to people who may have had too much to drink, supporting those who are distressed or hurt, or just providing a friendly face and listening ear for those who need help or advice.

Arun Angels follows the model of successful schemes which have been operating in towns and cities across the UK – all of which have shown significant reductions in violent crime, criminal damage and anti-social behaviour. The aim of Arun Angels is to improve the safety of those who use the town centre bars, clubs and other licensed premises and to reduce the fear of crime in the area. Arun Angels is supported by Churches Together, Arun Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) and local businesses as well as Sussex Police. Twenty-six volunteers from local churches will make up the Arun Angels teams.

Rachel Ison is our Street Angel

Our St. Wilfrid's Street Angel - Rachel Ison about to take to the streets after the Commissioning Service

Read her report on the first walk into the streets of Bognor after the Commissioning service

Following the Commissioning Service Derek Baker and the Angels walked from St. Wilfrid’s to the Methodist Church in the centre of town, which is to be our base. It was now very wet and windy but we felt warm and dry in our new uniforms.

After Prayers and a briefing we split into four teams and were given a designated route which we were to patrol and told initially just to observe our surroundings and note the whereabouts of the Clubs, Pubs, Wine bars, Cash points and most importantly , where the CCTV cameras are situated. We were also encouraged to make ourselves know to the Police, Taxi Marshalls, Bouncers and most of all build up a rapport with the young people. As we approached the Pier there were lots of youngsters making their way to the Night clubs.

At first glance I did wonder if I was in Bognor Regis or if I was actually on the Costa Brava as the dresses worn by the girls looked more like bikinis they were so scanty and they were all wearing the obligatory 5 inch heel shoes. Now I understand why part of our emergency supplies are flip flops!. However they all seemed in good spirits, some of them looked at us curiously whilst others did nod or speak. One enthusiastic young man put both thumbs up and said” good on ye, you must be the Angels” Fame at last!

We also had chats with the Police on patrol who seemed very pleased that we would be working along side them. We also had many a wave from passing taxi drivers who had also been briefed about our presence on the streets and some of the Teams actually made contact with the club bouncers.

Our first night’s brief walkabout was soon over and we made our way back to base for a de-briefing where we were greeted with hot drinks and home made cakes. As we had only been out until 11.15pm it had been a fairly quiet time, there was only one alcohol related incident which was reported by the teams but I am sure when we go out from 9.00pm to 3.00am from the 12th December onwards it will be a very different story.
However exciting and challenging times lie ahead and we will endeavour to uphold the meaning of the Arun Angels which is to be a Good Samaritan, listening, helping and supporting in the community of Bognor Regis.

Rachel Ison

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