Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews today welcomed the launch of a new online tool enabling women and girls to flag areas of the county that make them feel unsafe.
StreetSafe is a three-month national pilot launched by the Home Office as part of its strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.
It will enable users to pin drop areas on a map where they feel at increased risk of crime – regardless of whether an offence has actually taken place.
The data will be available to police and crime commissioners to improve safety and target resources in the right places, implementing additional security measures including night-time patrols and better street lighting.
Welcoming the new scheme Mr Matthews said: “No area of Leicestershire should be off-limits to the public - especially women and girls - because of the risk or perceived threat of crime. If we can take positive action to address vulnerabilities and reduce the opportunity for violence, then I am determined to make that happen.
“StreetSafe will arm decision-makers with the information they need to make improvements in the right areas. This is all part of the Government’s ambitious plans to be more responsive to the needs of our communities and return power to the law-abiding citizen, which I wholeheartedly endorse.
“Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority and as part of that commitment I want to understand where problems exist and do everything possible to prevent them so people can walk our streets with confidence.”
StreetSafe has the support of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and is hosted on the national policing website police.uk.
It is primarily aimed at women and girls and will allow the public to anonymously drop a pin on a map and describe the factors that cause them concern, including behavioural and environmental reasons why they felt unsafe including poorly-lit walkways to incidents of public harassment.
The information will be used alongside other key 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.
You can access StreetSafe at https://www.police.uk/streetsafe.
While the tool has not been designed to report crime, the Government and police are also urging more women and girls to come forward and report crimes like sexual harassment through existing channels such as 101. You can also report crime and anti-social behaviour to Leicestershire Police online at https://www.leics.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/
In an emergency always dial 999.
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Posted on Thursday 2nd September 2021