Essex Police are keeping Vigilant to protect women and girls

The streets of Essex are even safer for women and girls thanks to an innovative new policing operation which aims to keep them safe on nights out.

The specialist patrols - codenamed Project Vigilant - have been taking place across Essex since January and use a variety of policing tactics to root out those who seek to prey on women and girls socialising and enjoying the county’s busy night-time economy.

The patrols, carried out by our Neighbourhood Policing Teams, use specialist plain clothes officers who look out for telltale signs of those behaving in a predatory way. Those officers immediately flag concerns to uniform colleagues who tackle suspect individuals and safeguard women and girls who may be otherwise be at risk from those intent on doing them harm.

Additionally, our Roads Policing Units are also supporting the patrols by stopping vehicles being driven into busy towns and cities by those who have been convicted, arrested, bailed or wanted for sexual or violent offences against women and girls.

The patrols - which are being carried out at weekends in Chelmsford, Colchester, Maldon, Tendring, Braintree, Uttlesford, Rochford/Castle Point, Southend, Harlow, Thurrock, Epping Forest & Brentwood – have so far seen more than 1,500 public interactions carried out by officers on foot, 835 vehicles stopped, 250 people stopped and searched, 198 intelligence reports submitted, 85 arrests and 87 incidents attended.

Successes so far include: officers disrupting a registered sex offender outside a popular nightspot; stopping and removing a driver linked to child rape; driving home a young girl found in the company of an older man; rapid officer attendance at suspected spiking incident.

On Friday 6 March, Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips MP, visited Colchester to see the patrols in action and join officers as they ensure women and girls were able to enjoy their evening safely. She was joined by Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, Colchester District Commander Chief Insp Michelle Sparks, Det Supt Natalia Ross, Chief Inspector Carl Habbershaw, Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner (PFCC) Roger Hirst and Colchester MP Pam Cox.

The Minister also announced additional funding for the forces, including Essex Police, taking part in Project Vigilant which is in addition to funding support already provided by the Essex PFCC.

Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, who joined the Project Vigilant patrol said:

“Tackling violence against women and girls takes all of us – society, policing, local partnerships, prevention.
“Project Vigilant demonstrates exactly that - tackling VAWG cannot be done by policing alone and requires support from our communities, our businesses – from taxi firms and takeaways to pubs and clubs – our Community Safety Partnerships and local council.
“Project Vigilant shows is just one example of how, in Essex, we are all coming together to keep women and girls safe but also to prevent offences of VAWG before they happen by targeting those that our intelligence or patrols tell us mean to do harm.
“It is not for women and girls to change their behaviour – they should be free to enjoy an evening out without fear of being targeted by a predator. Instead it is those who are intent on causing harm who need to change their behaviour and realise that we are watching and waiting for the, there is no place for them on the streets of Essex.”

Roger Hirst MBE, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said:

"Maintaining a relentless focus on making sure women and girls feel safe in their local community matters.
“Essex has, for many years, been a leader in creating collaborative partnerships to tackle violence against women and girls. Several of the actions contained within the cross Government strategy to halve violence against women and girls in the next ten years have arisen from the change in approach implemented in our county.
“Alongside support for Essex Police operations, the PFCC has deployed £6.5m of Safer Streets funding and Community Development Fund grants of more than £1.5m to support activity aimed at eliminating such violence. This funding has enabled a series of community education, prevention and intervention projects to be commissioned across Essex.
“It was good to meet and speak with the Minister. The visit was an opportunity to show how police officers are working on the ground to make all our county’s communities safer. Finding ways to continue the positive momentum toward confronting offenders and helping victims seek a better future is something that all partners, at both a local and national level, consider to be an important priority.”

Project Vigilant is just one initiative used by Essex Police to keep women and girls safe. The force continues to robustly tackle criminals perpetrating all kinds of VAWG offences – from sexual offences through to domestic abuse.

Other preventative activity undertaken by Essex Police includes: education and awareness campaigns; working with education establishments to prevent sexual offences and promote consent and healthy relationships; working with local councils and Community Safety Partnership to create safer spaces under Operation Minnerva; using preventative orders to curb the behaviour of violent and sexual offenders; providing specialist training for frontline officers around domestic abuse and stalking.