A PROJECT that could see plainclothes police officers placed in nightclubs across the country, was initially founded by Thames Valley Police two years ago.
Last week, Boris Johnson announced a range of “immediate steps” to improve womens’ security, after the national gaze turned to male violence against women, in the wake of Sarah Everard’s death.
The prime minister suggested extending pilots of the programme, which was launched by Thames Valley Police in 2019, and includes police patrolling nightclubs to protect women from predatory offenders.
Project Vigilant also involves increased police patrols as people leave clubs at closing time.
Detective Chief Inspector James Senior, of Oxford CID based at St Aldates police station, said the scheme meant officers could “intervene more quickly” when it was piloted in the area.
And he believes that recent “tragic” events had reinforced the need for such an approach.
The force said it saw a 50% reduction in rape and 30% reduction in sexual assaults in the night time economy in Oxford, and will now be expanded across the rest of the Thames Valley as lockdwon restrictions ease.
DCI Senior said: “My team and I are committed to ensuring that the local community can have an enjoyable night out without the fear of being sexually assaulted.
“Through the pilot in Oxford, we found that utilising undercover officers and deploying them on the street meant that we were able to witness this behaviour first hand and intervene more quickly.
“That is completely unacceptable and the recent circumstances, as tragic as they are, have only reinforced the need to have an approach like this.
“From my perspective, and from the force’s, it’s good that the Government has recognised this as something that should be adopted.”
In October last year, the project received a crime prevention award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
“It was a real privilege to receive an international award for this initiative,” DCI Senior said. “It is fantastic that the work of our officers and staff has received international recognition and those involved in its implementation should be very proud.”
He added that the force had received “really positive” feedback from the community, but that “tweaks” could be made to make the operation more effective, if needed.
“Ultimately as part of our tactical plan we do engage with our communities, particularly with our student community in Oxford, and we will always listen to their concerns,” he said.
The DCI said there had not been any “major issues” with the programme and that there was “very little scope” for problems.
In a straw poll conducted by Wokingham.Today, 79% of young people said the project “would not make them feel safe” in a nightclub.
“There will be some concern, but the benefits of an operation like this will outweigh that in the sense that we are tackling predatory behaviour before it leads to sexual offence and the traumatic events that that will mean for the victim,” he said.
“These operations are really heavily scrutinised, quite rightly, and they are supervised at quite a senior level.
“I’m confident that if other forces were looking to implement this type of policing model… with the safeguards we have in place to run this operation sensitively and effectively, then that would easily avoid any issues around our officers.”
He said the force trusts its officers to “act professionally”.
“I have no reason to have any concerns about the professionalism of the police that would be deploying these types of tactics,” he added. “They’re highly trained and very good at what they do.
“It’s absolutely something that works and the tactics are relatively simple and can be replicated across sexual offending and other crime types.”
Chief Constable John Campbell, said the Thames Valley Police is committed to making the streets safer and Project Vigilant is just one of the ways the force does so.
