Ask for Angela: Warrington officers met with positive results during night-time economy safeguarding operation

Officers from Warrington's Town Centre Beat Team conducted an operation at various bars and night-time economy venues to see see how the scheme is working in the town.

With the days set to draw longer and better weather on the way, more of us will be heading out with friends, family and colleagues and visiting the night-time economy (NTE) venues such as bars, clubs and restaurants.

In preparation for this, plain-clothed officers from Warrington Town Centre Beat Team, aided by a Council Licensing Officer, tested several premises in the town on Saturday 22 February to see how bar and NTE staff would react to members of the public in need and ‘Asking for Angela’.

Most NTE venues will be aware of the national Ask for Angela scheme, which is a safe way to seek support from trained members of staff without any fear of judgement.

You can ask for Angela in a number of situations, including if you are on a date and it does not feel right, you have been sexually harassed, assaulted or spiked, need assistance from venue security or police officers, or even if you just need help in being safely seen off home in a taxi.

The evening of action fell under the Constabulary's Operation Banishing initiative, part of our ongoing commitment to tackle violence against women and girls and protect vulnerable people. Op Banishing involves regularly engaging with and reassuring the public whilst trying to disrupt those actively determined to cause harm and exploit the vulnerable.

The specially trained officers who took part in the operation joined their uniformed colleagues and worked alongside Warrington Borough Council CCTV operators to tackle predatory and sexualised anti-social behaviour in a busy NTE setting, and despite it being a busy Saturday evening, officers were met with positive results.

Bars including Gravity Social, Costello’s and The Botanist on Time Square, all successfully responded to the officer's test when their staff were approached, recognising the individuals as potentially vulnerable people and immediately taking steps to safeguard them.

Police Constable Juliet Taylor, who took part in the operation, said:

"No one should feel unsafe whilst on a night out in town and our officers regularly work alongside Warrington's venues in keeping everyone safe - we are always out and about on patrol and can support you in a number of ways when necessary. However, if for whatever reason you do not feel confident in speaking to a police officer, the Ask for Angela scheme is a way great of getting the help you need from specially trained staff.

"All these staff that we spoke to over the course of the evening deserve praise for their actions and taking the right steps to safeguard potentially vulnerable people and everyone who intends to go out and about in town should be confident these establishments will support them if required.

"To have a 100% success rate is a really positive sign and we would encourage anyone who works in the night-time economy or hospitality sector and needs a refresher on the training to speak to their line management and utilise the free resources are available on the Ask For Angela website.

"I would like to mention that we would encourage staff not to panic if they find themselves in a situation. Do what these staff did and get the person asking to a place of safety and follow protocols as per their training. In an emergency always call 999."

In addition to the Ask for Angela testing, the team conducted further licensing checks at the venues and five stop and searches, one of which resulted in cannabis being located and seized.