Gloucestershire supports launch of Home Office’s new StreetSafe tool

Gloucestershire Constabulary has welcomed the launch of a new Home Office pilot tool which allows people to report areas where they feel unsafe.

Hosted on the national policing website police.uk and aimed primarily at women and girls, the tool, named StreetSafe, will enable members of the public to pin-point locations where they feel or have felt unsafe and to identify the reasons why.

These could range from a poorly lit street to instances of anti-social behaviour or harassment and will mean concerns can be raised with police, whether or not a crime has been committed. The pilot is taking place for three months and the information gathered will be used alongside other key data from partner agencies with an aim to improve safety in communities.

Suggested changes and improvements could range from installing CCTV cameras and street lighting across an open space, to introducing night-time patrols led by officers or members of the local community, such as Neighbourhood Watch or Guardians groups.

Assistant Chief Constable Rhiannon Kirk, the Constabulary’s lead for Violence Against Women and Girls said: “The information provided by StreetSafe will help improve our understanding around areas of concerns the public have and gather intelligence about particular places women and girls feel unsafe.

“We are working hard every day to try and make the county safer for all when walking the streets in our communities and this information will help inform local changes and address areas of concern by working with partner agencies.

“This is just part of our approach to tackling Violence Against Women and Girls and further reporting opportunities are in development.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson added: “It was only a few years ago our crime prevention activities focussed on helping women to protect themselves. What we really need is a change in culture so that men no longer believe that violence against women and girls is acceptable.

“Until then, I welcome this, and a number of other initiatives currently in the pipeline, that will help make our streets safer and enable women and girls to go about their business without fear of attack.”

StreetSafe is not a means for reporting crime and this should be done by the usual channels of calling 999 in the case of an emergency, or phoning 101 or online for non-emergency crimes at https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/soh/seen-or-heard/

Anyone who wishes to submit information as part of the pilot can do so here: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/notices/street-safe/street-safe/