TAVISTOCK could soon be part of a pioneering scheme aimed at curbing late night town centre disturbances and anti-social behaviour.
The Street Pastors initiative was founded in London in 2003 by the Rev Les Isaac, director of the Ascension Trust. It has seen some startling results, including large reductions in reported crime incidents where teams have been working.
In Devon, street pastors operate in Plymouth, Torbay and Ilfracombe — the Plymouth operation is now the largest individual scheme in the country. The pastors patrol the streets, visiting pubs and clubs and engaging with people, offering help where needed.
Graham Boot-Handford of TACT, said: 'I think there is a need for it here, and the police seem to think it would be extremely beneficial.
'It won't be in operation every night of the week, just Fridays and Saturdays, and obviously Tavistock is very different from Union Street in Plymouth, so it will be quite a different approach here. Once it gets going there may be an opportunity to develop it further and extend it to some villages in the area.'
Mr Boot-Handford said TACT was looking for 30 volunteers from its churches who will undertake ten training sessions over a period of three months.
The training will cover such areas as drug use, basic counselling skills, equality and diversity issues, first aid and basic self-defence.
The volunteers, who must be 18 and a church member, will also be subject to an interview process.
The cost per pastor, thought to be around £500, will be borne by the churches.
Mr Boot-Handford said: 'I think this is an opportunity to take what we talk about in church out and actually serve the community, rather than meeting behind closed doors on a Sunday.
'It's providing a service to people, often vulnerable young adults who are on the streets when most people would rather not be. Generally, the feedback I get is "Yes, its a really good service and I'm glad you are doing it, not me!"'
Sgt Dave Anning, of Tavistock Police, said: 'If street pastors come across someone that is in need of help but not necessarily in need of a police officer, it means we can get on with issues that actually need to be dealt with using police powers, rather than tying up valuable officer time.
'The scheme has been surprisingly successful in other areas. People do seem to take well to them, I guess because they are non-confrontational. It's a good form of social service in the truest sense of the word.
'Obviously, there are far, far less problems in Tavistock than there would be in a city area, but at the same time, we have far less police on the streets.
'If you've only got a couple of officers on duty and there's a drunk that needs to be got home safely, the street pastors can make it a lot easier for the police by taking this sort of problem on,' he said.
The idea of a street pastor scheme was put before members of Tavistock Town Council's finance committee on Tuesday.
Members were in favour of the initiative and a representative to liaise with TACT will be selected at next week's full council meeting.
A TACT open meeting will be held on May 14 at the Abbey Chapel in Tavistock, when the Rev Stuart Clarke, co-ordinator of the Plymouth Street Pastors' scheme, will explain in depth the activities of its volunteers.