New rules for police officers before they speak to lone women
IT IS FOR REASSURANCE AFTER SARAH EVERARD TRAGEDY
POLICE officers in Derbyshire are under new orders from the chief constable to help ensure women feel safer following the death of Sarah Everard and other recent tragedies.
Lone male officers have been asked to try to make their interactions with women and girls as reassuring as possible, with the onus on them to do this, rather than the woman or girl they are dealing with feeling like they need to ask.
The range of measures include proving their identity, via speaking with the Derbyshire police control room, when engaging with women in a public place while on duty.
Officers must also use bodyworn video cameras, when available, during interactions and seek assistance from colleagues before making a direct approach to a lone woman.
The new measures were introduced by Derbyshire police Chief Constable Rachel Swann following former police officer Wayne Couzens being handed a lifetime prison sentence for the murder of Ms Everard in March.
As was widely reported earlier this year, the then Metropolitan officer Couzens used his warrant card and handcuffs to kidnap Ms Everard as she walked home in south London, before raping and murdering her.
News of Ms Everard’s death triggered a public outcry with many women expressing personal stories of feeling scared and unsafe when out alone. Now, new measures taken by Derbyshire police were revealed during a Public Assurance Meeting hosted by Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster, who quizzed Derbyshire’s police top bosses over the issue of violence against women.
Derbyshire police is not the only force to be launching these instructions to police officers.
Police say the measures will be managed on a case by case basis. This means, for instance, that if a woman was seen committing a crime then the measures may need not apply, depending on the situation and risk to the public.
The virtual Public Assurance Meeting was recently published on the Police and Crime Commissioner’s website after inviting the public to submit questions to Derbyshire police’s Chief Constable.
One of the questions centred on women’s safety when being approached by a police officer. It was asked: “The police need to engage in an awareness campaign in Derbyshire to educate girls/ women on what circumstances they can be detained on if they were approached by a single male policeman (eg Wayne Couzens) – if women were educated on this, lives could be saved. What is the police doing to address this?”
Deputy Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: “The Chief Constable has made it very clear that the onus is on the police service to ensure women and girls feel safe. The police service is obliged to ensure members of the public are fully informed as to the reasons why police powers are being exercised. This should not be a responsibility forced upon women and girls.
“The Chief Constable has introduced additional measures to support this, which include the use of body-worn video during interactions, seeking assistance from colleagues prior to approaching lone females and confirming their identity and location via the force control room.
“A workstream has also been commissioned, which is led by a senior officer this will examine all opportunities to ensure women and girls feel safe from harm.”