North Somerset initiative protecting women and girls
Police patrols have been using anonymously submitted data about where people don't feel safe
Last updated 7th Jun 2023
Clevedon, Nailsea, Portishead and Weston-Super-Mare are just a number of areas where neighbourhood police officers have been carrying out extra patrols.
With the StreetSafe App, women and girls can report places they don't feel safe, which is then shared with the police and the local council.
StreetSafe is a national app and website, created by the Home Office, for people to report public places where they have felt unsafe - which could be anything, from poor street lighting or abandoned buildings, or anti-social behaviour.
Explaining more about their work in North Somerset, Police Sergeant Jack Roth said: “The data we are gathering from the StreetSafe app means we’re able to get a clearer picture of certain areas that may be causing people to feel unsafe.
"We work closely with our partners at North Somerset Council to identify issues and provide solutions, such as deploying police and council neighbourhood officers to increase patrols in those areas to provide reassurance and deter crime or antisocial behaviour.
"We can only act if we know what’s happening, so I would encourage everyone to download the app and let us know if you have any concerns in your local neighbourhoods.”
With ÂŁ317,694 of funding from the Home Office's Safer Streets Fund last year - secured jointly by North Somerset Council and Somerset Council to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) - the local authorities have worked with Avon and Somerset Police to develop a training package to help make our streets more safe.
This education and training programme involves public engagement, women’s outreach programmes and funding for additional CCTV cameras as well as increased police patrols in identified areas of VAWG-related crime and anti-social behaviour.
Councillor James Clayton, North Somerset Council’s Executive Member for Safety in the community, said: “As a council, we’re fully committed to changing behaviour and increasing the feelings of safety for women and girls. I’m therefore delighted to see increased effort to encourage the use of the national StreetSafe app and website here in North Somerset.
"These are very practical tools that give people the power to directly influence our work, in partnership with the police, to help us achieve positive outcomes in tackling Violence Against Women and Girls crimes across the area. Please do use the app and website to report feeling unsafe, it really helps us to know where best to target our resources.”
You are urged to call 101 to report a crime, and 999 in the case of an ongoing crime or emergency, as the StreetSafe app is not a place to report crimes or incidents.
The information shared on the StreetSafe app is anonymously shared with neighbourhood police and North Somerset Council.
To find out more about support services to woman and girls who are experiencing violence, click over to the Refuge website.