CHARITY REPORT FOR JANUARY 2023 TO 31ST DECEMBER 2023 Trustees.. Jonathan McGill - Chairperson Jenny Davis - Treasurer and secretary Margaret Travers Rev Marlyn Travers Rev David Wood Registered Office 2 Ethelbert Road, Bromley BR1 1JA The charity is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. 1171291. The trustees present their report together with the financial statements of the charity from 1 January 2023 to the year ended 31st December 2023. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES The aims of the organization are to advan the Christian faith particularly but not exclusively by means of canng. listening and helping people on the streets. Activities - Street Pastors night time Patrols The primary activity of the charity is to provide patrols of Street Pastors as a service to the community, to give reassurance, safety and support through listening. caring and helping. These patrols advance the Christian faith by practical demonstration of the unconditional love and kindness of God. The Charity's main activity and objectives for the year has been to continue to go out on the High Streets of Beckenham, Bromley and Orpington. In September 2023 Bromley Street Pastors moved from going out once a month to twice a month. The Street Pastors by their weekly presence promote a calming influence on the High Streets and complement the work of the Police and other emergency services by providing a supportive presence for potential victims, providing a calming influence for potential offenders and a positive presence for the vulnerable. We continue to engage with people who are losl, alone and unwell. Activities - Prayer Support for Street Pastors. A minister or church leader comes from the Churches Together in Beckenham lo pray with the Beckenham Slreel Pastors,. patrols in Orpington and Bromley always starl with prayer and all three areas finish with prayer at the end of their patrols. Orpington Street Pastors have a list of people who pray for Street Pastors, and some are on Call when the patrols go out. Beckenham and Bromley also have churches and prayer groups who undertake to pray for Street Pastors. Reporting - Each street pastor patrol has a leader who is responsible for the team for the night and wriles a report giving details of encounters. conversations. helping vulnerable people, calming aggressive situations and counting bottles and cans picked up. Achievements and Performance- Street pastors are recognized as one of Ihe key factors in keeping the High Streets calm on a Friday night. They provide a non- confrontational and supportive service to help those who are vulnerable, for those
the worse for drink, or injured. For example people who may be the worse for drink are cared for and every effort is made to get them to their home safely either by a local taxi or by calling a member of Ihe family to come and pick them up. Street Pastors receive a warm welcome from the public - we have made many friends over the years and had many happy conversations with all kinds of people. The regular interaction with the public produces the significant but Inlangible benefit of reassurance and promotion of safer behaviour. We routinely get many people thanking us or saying they think Street Pastors is a great idea etc. There continues to be an improvement in the atmosphere and a measurable reduction in violent crime in the night times when we are on duty in Beckenham, Bromley and Orpington. Police have remarked on the reduction in violence on Beckenham High Street since the Street Pastors started in December 2007 and this is supported by the fact that there is a reduction of police officers deployed in Beckenham and Orpington High Streets on a Friday night. The Bromley Street Pastors having restarted in November 2022 at the request of the police, have increased in number which enabled them to start to go out on patrols twice a month during 2023. Contribution made by volunteers Street pastors come from 24 churches across the Borough of Bromley and are uniformed volunteers after training for 45 hours. We had 39 Street Pastors in the Borough of Bromley. We continued to recover from the lockdowns - Orpington have been able to return to weekly patrols with a once a month Saturday morning. Beckenham managed 37 patrols limited by the redUd number of Street Pastors, but more patrols than the previous year. Bromley had 15 patrols. A total number of 178 people were helped on the streets. and in addition there were 51 anti-social incidents where Street Pastors calmed aggressive situations. 680 bottles were collected during the year. 4 pairs of flip flops were given out. FUTURE PLANS We remain fully committed to maintaining our existing Street Pastor patrols. and are very pleased that Bromley are out on the High Street twice a month. Our aim is to have weekly patrols again in both Beckenham and Bromley. FINANCIAL REVIEW The income from 1 January to 31 December 2023 was £9,616. We were very fortu nate in receiving a donation from the police of £8,100 primarily given to restart Street Pastors patrolling Bromley High Street again. We spent £6,367 including £4,414 on training and kilting out new Street Pastors and £1,805 fees on licence fees and DBS. We had a closing balance of £9,246. The charity does not employ any staff. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT GOVERNING DOCUMENT The Borough of Bromley Street Pastors. governing documenl is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation Foundation.
Management and recruitment of new trustees The Managemenl Committee of the Borough of Bromley Street Pastors, who are also the Trustees of the charily. aim to meet three times a year. All trustees give of their time freely and no remuneration or expenses were paid in the year. We aim to recruit new trustees from the churches supporting the charity. PUBLIC BENEFIT The charity's trustees have regards to the Charity Commission's public benefit guidance. The trustees are aware of the guidance and have taken it into account when making a decision to which the guidance is relevant in the running of the charity. In any instance where the trustees decide to depart from the guidance they have good reasons for doing so and this is recofded. The trustees believe that the charity has provided public benefit through the Street Pastors, regular patiols in Beckenham. Bromley and Orpington. FINANCIAL REVIEW The financial statements are set out in the accounts for the period 1st January and ending 31st December 2023. The accounts have been Presented as a receipts and payments account. Members of Trustees at the date Ihe report and the accounts were approved were Jonathan McGill (Chair) Jenny Davis - Treasurer and Secretary Rev Martyn Travers Margaret Travers Rev David Wood REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2023 The trustees are responsible foi keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with applicable laws and regulations. They are also responsible for ensuring that the charity maintains an adequate syslem of internal control designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded against loss or unaulhorized use and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularilies. ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES.. Signed
Account for Bromley Borough Street Pastors Balance Sheet for Jan 2023 - Dec 2023 Narrative Police Grant Training Contribution Donations Training Uniforms Licence Fee DBS Other Income Expenditure £8,100 £110 £1,406 £1,050 £3,364 £1,600 £205 £148 Total £9,616 £6,367 Closing bank balance 31st Dec 2022 Total Income Total Ex enditure Closin Balance 31st Dec 2023 £5,997.00 £9,616.00 £6,367.00 £9.246.00