Salvos stay on to reduce violence

LATE-NIGHT street violence at Salamanca and on the waterfront has more than halved with Salvation Army volunteers working in the precinct.

An evaluation of the Salvos’ Street Team program has shown a 53 per cent drop in the area’s anti-social behaviour during the past three years.

The study examined violence between 10.30pm and 3am on Fridays and Saturdays, when the Street Team volunteers and coffee cart were on duty.

“Our paramedics, our police benefit from the fact the street teams are out there,” Salvos social programs chief Stuart Foster said.

“They can be the eyes on the ground as well for the police where there are issues developing, and they can be proactive in that space.”

The program will continue in Hobart in 2018, and trialled in Launceston with $110,000 from the State Government.

Its teams of trained volunteers provide support to those at risk of harm from alcohol or drug misuse in the popular entertainment precinct.

“They’re also really about intervening with people who are finding themselves in a difficult situation, whether they have enjoyed themselves way too much [or] been separated from friends,” Mr Foster said.

The program operates in all Australia’s capital cities.

A formal trial would take place in Launceston next year, Police Minister Rene Hidding said. “It’s times when things can get a little tricky late at night and social order can be compromised,” he said.

The initiative has also been welcomed by the Tasmanian Hospitality Association.

The State Government has also announced a grant of $154,000 to the Legal Literacy Volunteer Program from a Solicitors Guarantee Fund surplus.