Nitezone arrives in Shawlands

On Friday 04 September, Community Safety Glasgow will officially extend its Nitezone service to include Shawlands. The service, which only operates in the south-side during the festive period, will operate on trial basis for one year.

The move to extend the service follows encouragement and a £5,200 donation from Michele Pagliocca, owner of The Shed and The butterfly and the pig.

The cost to operate the Nitezone service for the full-year is £15,500.

Nitezone is a public safety initiative which seeks to enhance people’s enjoyment of nights out by ensuring they get home safely with the assistance of Homesafe Marshals at supported taxi ranks.

The service currently serves the city-centre, merchant-city and west-end on Friday and Saturday nights. Its extension to the south-side is designed to offer a safer and more secure environment for local people while making the area a more attractive location for visitors from across the city and further afield.

Michele Pagliocca said, “I welcome the Nitezone service to Shawlands and hope after a year’s trial it is introduced on a permanent basis.

“During the festive period when Nitezone is in operation there is a significant improvement to the area. The presence of both taxi marshals and the police ensures a quicker dispersal of people from the town, reduces the volume of litter and makes the town and its night-time offerings a much safer and more attractive place to go.

“To have a regular Nitezone service in Shawlands is great news for the night-time economy and would no-doubt benefit south-side residents, the community and local businesses.”

The launch of the service coincides and compliments a new safety campaign being launched by The Shed.

CHAT is a campaign created to encourage people to stay safe on nights out by keeping in contact and maintaining a steady flow of communication with friends.

The word CHAT is an acronym for a series of key messages including details of free phone charging stations available at The Shed, information about Nitezone and reminding people to be aware of their surroundings and how to get home safely.”

To promote CHAT, which is supported by Police Scotland, Community Safety Glasgow and Glasgow Taxis, safety cards with useful contact details will be issued to customers visiting the club. Information will also be launched on social media and The Shed’s website.

Michele Pagliocca added: “We all have a moral obligation, in one way or another, to protect and support vulnerable people so that no harm will come to them on a night-out. CHAT is our way of highlighting the importance of keeping in contact with friends and the measures we have in place to ensure people get home safely.”

Chief Inspector Carol McGuire, area commander for Glasgow South East, said: “We are pleased to support the extension of the Nitezone initiative into Shawlands. The initiative has been running for a number of years within Glasgow city centre and has been a factor in reducing violent crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour. Police work closely with Community Safety Glasgow to tackle community concerns around the night time economy, and we work together to raise awareness of how people can keep themselves safe when out and about in our town centres.

“The ‘CHAT’ safety initiative which has been devised by The Shed will no doubt complement the efforts of the Nitezone. It offers practical advice to those on nights out in the area to look after themselves and their friends, and if socialising within The Shed, they’re able to obtain support and help should they need it.

“Police in the area will support the Nitezone, with our regular patrols in the areas to support Community Safety Glasgow staff and support the night time economy in Shawlands.”