VIGILANTES UK
Members of the public start patrolling their streets to fill gap left by front-line police cuts
‘We want to make residents feel safe’
VIGILANTE groups are taking to the streets after cuts to police patrols left their neighbours feeling ‘ unprotected and unsafe’.
Two groups are operating in Essex to deter crime and report offences to police amid concerns about the lack of bobbies.
And they say they will intervene if they see a crime in progress – despite having no formal training and no officially recognised powers.
Night Angels Pitsea, which covers Basildon, and Wick Patrol Group in Wickford, say their presence is necessary because of the collapse in frontline policing.
The two groups are believed to be the first organised vigilantes on regular patrol since the New York-based Guardian Angels began setting up chapters in the UK in the late 1980s.
The London Guardian Angels recently visited the Night Angels. Talks are ongoing for them to return to discuss the possibility of a merger.
Essex Police announced in 2011 that it was shedding 10 per cent – 388 – of its frontline officers after it had to find £41 million of savings over four years.
A further 100 police community support officers and around 600 support and office staff were also due to go.
The Night Angels were formed last month and have about 15 members. Founder duncan Lamont, 46, a ground worker who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Staffordshire Regiment, said he decided to take action after a local woman was robbed by a mugger who threatened her baby.
‘Basically we are a deterrent,’ he said. ‘ We walk, we observe and we report – that’s basically our motto.
‘If we see a serious crime in progress we would intervene until the police arrive. Thankfully, that has not happened. I’m hoping we are going to clear up Basildon in the next few months. We want to stop the crime and make residents feel safe so they can walk the dogs or go to the shop and kids can play in the street.’
The Wickford vigilantes have been patrolling since 2016. A founder, who asked to remain anonymous, said: ‘ Since we’ve been in existence, we don’t seem to get the regular burglaries and break-ins and the community feels safer knowing we are out there patrolling.’
Official figures show there were 30 burglaries in Wickford in the year to November 2017, compared to 99 in the previous 12 months. Criminal damage and arson also dropped slightly, while violent crimes remained virtually unchanged and antisocial behaviour rose slightly. Several Essex communities have begun paying for private security streets after firms front-line to patrol police their services were reduced and stations closed. But there were concerns about the schemes after one was abandoned in Frinton-on-Sea in 2016 when householders claimed they were harassed into joining. There is support for the vigilante groups, though. Wickford baker Kevin Barke said: ‘ I’d bloody join them. My house got burgled and this place got burgled four times. If the police are not going to be here someone has to do something.’ A shopper in Pitsea, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I can’t remember the last time I saw a bobby. Anything is better than nothing.’ Essex Police urged residents not to take the law into their own hands. Inspector Steve Parry said they could take part in the Active Citizen scheme, under which ‘non- confrontational’ community volunteers go on patrols with officers and give advice to other locals. He added: ‘Police officers conduct high-visibility patrols across Basildon, Billericay, Pitsea and Wickford and we continue to work closely with our partners and the public to keep communities safe. We always urge people to report incidents or information to us either directly or to Crimestoppers anonymously, as we will act on any information given to us.’