Users can report incidents to keep police in the loop
WOMEN and girls could be made safer by a new scheme allowing people to flag up places where they have been abused or made to feel unsafe.
StreetSafe is a new police tool allowing anybody to place a pin on a map to alert police to any location that they think is unsafe – whether this is due to environmental concerns like a lack of CCTV or street lighting, or behavioural issues like verbal harassment.
The scheme is being piloted across the UK and is being rolled out in Cardiff by South Wales Police.
A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: “Tackling the scourge of violence and abuse against women and girls is a key priority for us.
“We target resources towards clear routes to safety for victims, supporting and empowering survivors and investing in evidence-based interventions that tackle root causes, addressing the harmful attitudes and behaviours that result in violence and abuse.
The tool’s website says it should not be used to report crimes and that data is anonymised so police cannot use it to follow up on individual incidents. The aim is to collect data on potential hotspots so work can be done to make them safer.
The website captures data on location, answers to questions about that location or behaviour reported, and any reasons given for not reporting the crime. It also collects data on users’ age ranges and gender, but nothing that could identify them.
Police and Crime Commissioners, government policy officials and police forces will be able to access the data, as will “other stakeholders.”
A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: “We understand that public perceptions are crucial. We are committed to protecting women from violence, and to bringing perpetrators to justice and this commitment was commended by a judge in one recent high-profile case.”
