THE INDEPENDENT: With his dark-blue uniform, earpiece and walkie-talkie, Nochem Perlberger could pass for a police officer as he patrols the leafy streets of London’s Stamford Hill neighbourhood. Like an officer of the law, he responds to emergency calls, visits crime scenes and pursues suspects.
However, he is a member not of the constabulary but of the Stamford Hill Shomrim Rescue Patrol, a group of Orthodox Jewish men who, for the past two years, have been “policing” the streets of their community in Hackney.
Set up nearly two years ago, the group now has 22 patrolling members, a headquarters and even a 24-hour emergency number, staffed by six operators, which residents call to report crime. “Every house and child in the community knows this number off by heart,” said Mr Perlberger, one of the group’s committee members.
In the five months since the Stamford Hill Shomrim hotline was established, they have dealt with more than 2,000 calls including break-ins, thefts and muggings. On average, they identify three to five suspects a week and hand them over to the police. >>> Mark Hughes | Monday, January 04, 2010
