WARWICKSHIRE Police is supporting the trial of a new national online tool to allow people to flag places where they have felt unsafe.
StreetSafe – which is primarily aimed at women and girls – allows members of the public to anonymously drop a pin onto a map and describe factors that caused them concern, including behavioural or environmental reasons why they felt unsafe.
These could range from a poorly lit walkway to instances of public harassment, and will mean concerns can be raised with police, whether or not a crime has been committed.
The force says the information will be used alongside other data by policing in partnership with stakeholders, to deliver improved wellbeing and safety for communities.
Changes and improvements could range from installing CCTV and street lighting across a park or common, to introducing night-time patrols led by officers or members of the local community, such as Neighbourhood Watch groups.
Supt Mike Smith, community and response policing lead for Warwickshire Police, said: “We’re pleased to support and promote this national initiative. Everyone has a right to walk the streets safely and we are committed to ensuring this happens. A key part of this is tackling violence against women.
“We will use the information collected using this tool alongside other community intelligence to identify areas of concern and put measures in place to address them.”
National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Neighbourhood Policing, Chief Constable Claire Parmenter, said: “StreetSafe will provide us with information about the places that women and girls feel unsafe that can be used, alongside other information, to inform local decisions and changes to make women and girls feel safer.
“We continue to work hard to tackle violence against women and girls in all forms and we hope the data provided will enrich our understanding of our communities concerns.”
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ Prevention Lead Festus Akinbusoye said: “Effective policing relies on information from the public to help plan and prioritise resources. Better community intelligence therefore means more reliable data – and that is exactly what the StreetSafe platform provides. I encourage everyone to use the new StreetSafe tool and make it a success.”
While StreetSafe has not been designed to report crime, police are also urging more women and girls to come forward and report crimes like sexual harassment by calling police on 101, or 999 in an emergency.
Visit https://www.police.uk/StreetSafe to use StreetSafe.
