Street Ambassadors back on the beat in Nelson city

13 November 2015

From this Saturday 14 November, anyone venturing out after dark in the Nelson CBD, will again notice our Street Ambassadors, acting as guardians for our city.

The team, in their distinctive high-visibility vests, will be on duty Saturday nights from 14 November – 11 December; Friday and Saturday nights over the busy holiday period until 20 February; and then Saturday nights until 27 March.

Their usual shift is 10pm – 3.30am, excluding New Years Eve and some of the surrounding nights, where the service will operate until 4am.

Nelson City Council has been involved in delivering this service since 2004.

The Street Ambassadors work in pairs throughout the weekend nights, delivering safety messages, offering advice and assistance when needed and intervening with the aim to stop trouble before it starts.

Street Ambassador Team Leaders are qualified to administer first aid and the teams keep in touch via cell phones and radios with Police, hospitality doormen, Maori Wardens and Nelson Community Patrol volunteers, who monitor the closed circuit television cameras on the weekend nights.

PURPOSE AND BENEFIT OF STREET AMBASSADORS
People feel safer in the CBD at nights
Incidence of serious assaults is reduced
Young people are made more aware of safety issues in the CBD and how to protect themselves from these
Increased public awareness about the service and its aims
Relevant information is gathered as to trends and issues within the CBD that Council may be able to address
The Street Ambassador service is funded by Nelson City Council. Youth and Community Works Limited is responsible for selecting, training, managing and supervising the ambassadors.

ENDS

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