Arun Angel patrols respond to all sorts of different situations. here are three stories based on actual incidents that were encountered soon after we launched in late 2009 and early 2010. These examples cover three types of incident that occur regularly in the nightlife environment of our towns and cities. Nightlife initiatives such as Street Angels and Street Pastors deal with siutations like these on most weekend nights throughout the year. Case History 1 - the man incapable due to alcohol Case History 2 - the violent assault Case History 3 - the vulnerable young woman
Case History 1 – the man incapable due to alcohol It was a December night in the very early weeks of Arun Angels being out on patrol. The Street Angel team members had completed their training but were out on patrol for the very first time. There were 8 street Angels who were patrolling in two separate teams of four Angels. One of the teams was moving along the Esplanade close to the club venues. In a gateway there was a rubbish skip and on the floor beside it, there was a young man who appeared asleep or unconscious. As he was dressed in just jeans and t-shirt, the team were concerned as it was a cold night and in that location he would be at risk of hypothermia. Two of the team tried to speak to the young man and then to wake him by gently shaking his shoulder. He did not appreciate being woken and was soon asking that we take him home to his bed. The concern of the team was to get him more fully awake so that he could understand the danger of his situation. Slowly, the young man began to engage in conversation still wanting somebody to take him back to his own home. He had been vomiting a little and the team gave him bottled water to drink and a thermal blanket to retain as much body heat as possible. The young man did manage to tell the team his name was S. and his mother’s mobile phone number. Team members tried to call the number but with no success. Two other members of the team managed to alert Police officers passing by in a vehicle. One of the officers came over and used his authority to get the young man to his feet and discover that home was in Middleton. It was clear that the young man was beginning to think for himself and regain some consciousness. He told us that he had lost his mobile phone and that door-staff had asked him to leave and would not allow him to re-enter one of the clubs to locate his jacket. The team discussed the situation with the Police officers and judged that S. would be able to make his way home along the Esplanade and that once he got moving he would stay awake. They watched as S. made his way unsteadily off along the pavement. They continued to observe as the young man progressed into the distance to make sure that he remained stable and walking in the right direction. After some time, they moved on for the rest of the patrol. Later on in the night, the team returned to the Esplanade and traced the route that S. had taken and to make sure that he had indeed made his way towards home and not stopped off at some of the shelters at the far eastern end of the Esplanade where he might have tried to sleep again. There was no further contact with S.
Case History 2 – The violent assault It was his friend’s 18th birthday and M. had been invited to join the night out to celebrate with several other people whom he did not know. J. was someone else who’d been invited but a bit older maybe in his late 20s. M. didn’t know J. but both were there to enjoy the birthday night out. The plan was to have a few drinks in the town pubs and then spend the rest of the night until closing time in the nightclub on the Pier. The first information that the Arun Angels team leader heard was over the town pubwatch radio about a large group of young men who were out celebrating a birthday and heading for the Pier – would they need to get involved later? Information such as this is often shared between door-staff of the various licensed venues. The Street Angels were patrolling as two teams of three. By around 2.00am, the group were in the nightclub and most had already had plenty to drink. Everyone was hyped up and tensions were rising amongst the group. Details are a bit uncertain but J. was blaming M. for spoiling the night. J. was very angry indeed and M. had decided to make his way home, a long walk as he lived out of town. J. decided to have it out with M. and following him, accused him of spoiling the night. M. did not like Bognor or it’s people and something he said provoked J. to grab him and punch him. One of the Street Angel teams observed this and used the town radio to alert Police. The second Street Angel team were very close by and made an approach in order to calm the situation. A member of staff from one of the town pubs assisted and physically separated the two men. The street angel team managed to get between the two men and engage them in conversation separately. After some minutes, J. decided to go home as well – he had by now lost contact with the rest of the group. The team were satisfied that the men would head for home in different directions. After a few minutes, one of the team realised that the routes M. and J. had taken would meet up again a short while later and was very concerned that there would be further violence. The team of three moved quickly to the anticipated flashpoint. From a distance of about 30 metres, J. was seen assaulting M. who had been knocked to the ground and J. was now bent over him continuing the assault. Street Angels are not expected to break up fights or physically intervene but there are often situations where words and being there can cause a distraction which stops what is happening. In this instance, the three members of the team worked together, one used words to distract J. from the assault, one called 999 (discretely so as to avoid further provocation of J.), and one concentrated on how M. was and the seriousness of any injury. J. had backed away and decided to head for home. The team remained with M. who was helped off the ground and was now sitting on a low wall. He was upset with blood around his nose and mouth. The team stayed with him having put in a further call to emergency services as it was clear that M. would need medical attention. He was highly emotional, at times upset to the point of tears, very grateful that the Street Angels had been around to intervene but also angry and wanting to fight back against J. As the team waited with M. for the ambulance to arrive, they chatted with M. who admitted that he often got into fights with people and that it was not always caused by too much alcohol but that he just seemed to upset people who’d then pick on him. Once Police and Ambulance had arrived, the team updated the officers and left the incident. This account is based on an incident that occurred close to Bognor Regis High Street in February 2010.
Case History 3 – the vulnerable young woman Just a few weeks after a training session from the local Police about sexual assault, a team of 4 street Angels was out on patrol. It was late on a Saturday night in early April 2010. The night had been similar to many other nights with people in the main enjoying their night out. The team had observed two young men who had been refused entry to one of the club venues and become verbally abusive but nothing too serious and they had moved on. The team was patrolling as two pairs of street angels separate but close enough to offer support if needed. The team became aware of a woman who was being supported by two men with one on either side making their way towards an alleyway just off Waterloo Square near the Pier. Several things were noticed straight away, the woman had no shoes on, she had her arms across the shoulders of each of the men either side of her and most obvious of all was that her skirt had fallen down some way completely revealing her underwear. The team was immediately concerned that the woman did not fully know what was happening to her and that it was unclear what the intentions of the young men were. We made an initial verbal approach asking if she was ok. We got back an aggressive “mind your own business” from the two men. We made the decision for one pair of Street Angels to maintain a safe distance but to stay in visual contact with the woman and two men and for the other pair to report the situation to Police whom we knew to be attending a road traffic accident nearby. The men were aware that two street angels were nearby. They continued to escort the woman along the alleyway stopping briefly. The two Street Angels followed at a safe distance. Meanwhile, the second pair of street angels had alerted Police to the situation and a vehicle patrol was responding. The team of street angels continued to observe and stay within sight of the woman and two men until it was clear the Police officers had caught up with them and were checking that the woman was aware of the two men and was willing to be helped by them. The street angels moved on once they were sure that the Police officers were speaking with the woman and two men. In this instance, despite appearances, the woman was not being co-erced and was with the men by her own choice. Later on, the team recalled the similarity between the two men and were fairly sure that they were the same pair who had been refused entry to one of the licensed venues earlier in the evening. This account is based on an incident that occurred close to Waterloo Square in Bognor Regis in April 2010.
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