Police initiative to tackle sexual harassment of women receives £300k boost

As part of the Safety of Women at Night (SWAN) fund, Thames Valley Police’s Project Vigilant has been awarded a further £297,252 to help train officers identify individuals displaying predatory behaviour.

Project Vigilant is an initiative that uses a combination of uniformed and plain clothed officers to carry out patrols in areas outside night clubs, bars and pubs, to look for signs of sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and loitering.

The funding will include a three-day nationally accredited training course, normally reserved for Counter Terrorism Policing, adapted to enhance the skills of officers to identify suspicious behaviour.

Individuals identified as displaying predatory behaviour will be referred to an intervention programme delivered by Circles South East, a charity that works with convicted sex offenders to address their behaviour.

Bystander Intervention training will also be offered to partner organisations and staff at local venues to empower them to challenge this behaviour in order to prevent sexual violence.

Between 23 July and 4 November 2021, 117 people across Oxford, Reading, Milton Keynes and Windsor were stopped and ten arrests were made in relation to predatory behaviour.

Stops included those that were harassing women, making unwanted sexualised comments and loitering in areas where sexual offences take place.

This funding is in addition to funding already awarded to Project Vigilant earlier this year where Thames Valley Police received £90,000 from the Home Office to recruit a dedicated Sergeant to coordinate Project Vigilant across the force and commission an academic evaluation by Brighton University into the effectiveness of the project and the impact on future offending.

The evaluation is currently ongoing and will allow police to have a better understanding of public confidence and how the force can improve engagement.

Chief Superintendent Katy Barrow-Grint, force tactical lead for Violence Against Women and Girls, said: “I am really pleased that Project Vigilant has been recognised again by the Home Office as an innovative initiative and considered for additional funding.

“We are sending out a clear message to predatory individuals that their behaviour will not be tolerated.

“It is clear that we are stopping the right people in the right locations before an offence has taken place and this funding will allow us to continue to develop the project with our partners and enhance the skills of our officers”.