Have a good night out and get home safely

Shropshire’s Safer and Stronger Communities Partnership have again secured funding to enable the taxi marshall scheme in Oswestry and Shrewsbury to continue through to the New Year.

The scheme aims to help reduce alcohol related crime and disorder in Shrewsbury and Oswestry Town Centre’s over the Christmas period by providing a high visibility presence in the towns at key times.

Taxi marshalling has been a great success in improving public safety and significantly reducing anti-social behaviour in the town centres late at night.  Marshalls offer assistance to customers and provide a safe environment for people to wait for taxis.

Taxi Marshalls will be deployed in both Shrewsbury and Oswestry from the 6th December and will work every weekend in the run up to Christmas as well as New Years Eve and the first weekend in January 2014. The marshals will be on hand in Shrewsbury and Oswestry town centres’ to monitor queues at the taxi ranks and help reduce incidents of alcohol related disorder.

Councillor Steve Charmley, Portfolio Holder and member of the Safer Stronger Communities Partnership said:

“We want people to enjoy the nightlife in Shrewsbury and Oswestry over the festive period, but we also want them to feel safe. We want to prevent a small minority from spoiling other people’s enjoyment. The taxi marshals will prevent disorder in and around the taxi ranks ensuring people can get home safely at the end of the evening.”

This is the third year that the Safer Stronger Communities Partnership has funded this initiative which has been welcome by West Mercia Police, taxi operators and members of the public.