Romford Town Centre Police Launch New Violence Against Women And Girls Tent.

Police launched a new night time Safety Hub with the support of Romford BID and Havering Council on Saturday night 23 November. This is an initiative to support women and girls effected by all forms of violence, abuse or threatening behaviour.

 The initiative aims to enhance safety, provide support, and gather valuable data to improve the overall night time experience in the area.

 Creating a safe and supportive environment for individual’s in Romford town centre is one of the key aims of the initiative. It is imperative that multi agency collaborations are effective in preventing crime, managing safety concerns and supporting victims of abuse.

 Sergeant Alaziz Abed from the Romford town centre team said: “We have launched our first Safety Hub within the night time economy in Romford in the fight against violence against women and girls.  This is coinciding as we approach ‘16 Days of Action’ – the international campaign to eliminate violence against women.   

 Our aim is to enhance safety for all women and girls visiting the town centre during the evenings and by providing this multi-agency hub, we hope we can not only address night time safety concerns, but also provide a supportive environment.

 Our uniformed officers provide a high visibility presence in the town and work closely with the licensees in the area and Havering council CCTV. In addition, plain clothed officers are deployed looking for potential perpetrators and take early steps to intervene.  This is a community crime fighting approach to making the area feel safer.

 We do not tolerate intimidating behaviour or unwanted attention to women and girls and we want to encourage people to come forward and report crimes to us in confidence. This facility will allow us to provide a better victim service, with police officers being there at key times and dates to listen to concerns from those feeling vulnerable.”

 The hub is situated in the busy area of South Street, Romford at fixed dates/times where officers will be available to offer support to provide crime prevention advice if needed. With the support from Romford BID, officers are also able to provide visitors with bottled water, clean clothes and footwear to those who need it. There will also be high visibility patrols throughout the evening, with officers working alongside the street pastors, the licensed venues, woman’s aid charities and Havering council.

A survey has also been created for those who attend the stall to provide feedback on the positives, negatives and area’s that could be improved in the hope that officers implement the best practice when dealing with victims and to continuously develop strategies with local partners to address night time safety issues.  

 Julie Frost from the Romford Bid said “The Romford BID is very pleased to be working with the Romford Town Centre Police Team on their latest VAWG initiative. 

 It is a sad reality that in the UK today women and girls continue to be disproportionately impacted by physical and sexual violence. The Romford BID, like other agencies in the town, are committed to standing up against and combating the abhorrent behaviours which lead to so many women and girls becoming victims of violence.  

As an organisation, we are keen to do all we can to ensure that Romford Town centre is a place where residents and visitors can feel safe and secure, whatever time of the day or night.”

 Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of Havering Council, said:

“Sadly, we know many women and girls suffer from domestic violence and it is sometimes difficult to come forward and ask for help. We want to be in a society where it is safe for woman and girls at home and when out and visiting our town centres.

 “This visual presence is vital and means we can listen to the views of our communities as well as offer help. This initiative gives our community safety teams and police the chance to talk to and support anyone who is experiencing domestic violence in any form or has concerns that someone they know may be experiencing it.

 “It’s also an opportunity for our teams and the police to offer support, advice and get valuable information from anyone who has experienced any form of anti-social behaviour, crime or has other concerns, so we can continue to help make our town centres a safe place to be enjoyed.”

During the night, the Hub was the centre of a number of partners working together – Metropolitan Police.  Also, Romford BID’s Julie Frost, Havering Council – Sarah Strang and Jane Eastaff, Night Marshals (Response Team), Trident Medical, Havering Women’s Aid.  Together, their focus on women’s safety in the town centre attracted plenty of attention.  The partnership provided safety advice and for many, additional supporting information on domestic abuse.  In addition, we were available to men too, engaging with them discussing violence prevention.

A number of women came forward needing some assistance and with our key partners, were guided to transport hubs for their onward journey home.

Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!

We have created community pages where we will share our up-to-date stories happening in the area. Add the area closest to where you live.