Cheshire Constabulary working hard to keep women and girls safe across the county

Cheshire Constabulary are working hard to keep women and girls safe across the county through its Safer Streets initiative

Over the last 18 months since the launch of the Safer Streets initiative, Cheshire Constabulary have put into place several interventions and initiatives that have made a real difference to the safety of women and girls across the county.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts said:

“Cheshire Constabulary take the issue of violence against women and girls extremely seriously and making sure that women and girls across the county feel safe and supported is vital to us.

“Actions speak louder than words and our focus in this area means we are among the top performing police forces in the country for dealing effectively with domestic abuse and incidents of sexual violence.

“Through our violence against women and girls campaign we have shifted the focus to perpetrators and have set the standards that sexual harassment, misogyny and violence against women and girls is not accepted anywhere in Cheshire - and is a commitment that has been demonstrated throughout our Safer Streets initiative over the last 18-months.

The Force have worked closely with leading sexual violence training and consultancy experts, Lime Culture and Purple Leaf to provide vital education to schools, colleges, people who work in our night-time economy and to those who work in the hair and beauty industry to build a community of active citizens who can identify sexual harassment and violence and know how to intervene safely and effectively.

More than 110 schools received training across Cheshire, and more than 400 teachers, to equip both educators and the students with essential knowledge on how to create respectful and positive relationships with each other.

More than 220 business across the county have also been trained as part of this initiative to recognise and effectively respond to potential safety concerns for their clients and customers.

The Constabulary was the first police force in the North West to team up with the Hollie Gazzard Trust which saw officers along with our partners, give out more than 1360 vouchers to their enhanced Hollie Guard app to vulnerable women and girls across the county - turning their phones into an advanced personal safety device and giving them extra protection, should they find they need it.

More than 200 venues - such as libraries, leisure centres and train stations - across Cheshire have been certified as safe space champions, with training provided to these venues in order to create responsible guardians who can recognise risk and how to safely intervene - they also help promote safety to the public.

The Constabulary has also been providing people with a safe space in towns and city centre with the introduction of three safety buses. These buses stand as beacons of security to the public, from offering medical assistance to providing support for women struggling to get home, these buses have supported more than 6,640 people.

They have also been visiting schools and colleges across the county to reinforce positive behaviours on a night out and have been giving young people the tools to help keep themselves safe.

Safer Streets lead, Superintendent Claire Jesson, said:

“The success of the Safer Streets initiative is a result of the culmination of many months of hard work by police and key partners, who have remained committed to tackling violence against women and girls.

“I am really proud of the hard-work the Constabulary has put in to tackle domestic abuse, sexual harassment, and violence and I want to reassure women and girls across Cheshire that our efforts to keep you safe will continue.”