Thames Valley Police launches its first strategy to tackle violence against women and girls

Thames Valley Police have published its first strategy to tackle violence against women and girls across the force area.

Chief Superintendent Katy Barrow-Grint, tactical lead for Violence Against Women and Girls, said: “Violence against women and girls is a priority for the force and I am proud to be publishing this plan today – our first ever strategy solely focused on tackling this issue.

“Our strategy sets out our objectives for dealing with perpetrators and working with partners to identify sexual and violent offending at the earliest opportunity. It also demonstrates our commitment to listening to the experiences of women and girls and maintaining excellent victim care to those who find themselves navigating the criminal justice system.

“We are determined to do the very best for girls, women, communities, our staff and the people we work with and this strategy sets out how we will do this, compassionately and resolutely.”

Prior to the launch of the strategy Thames Valley Police carried out a ‘week of action’ focused on violence against women and girls. From March 21 to 28, officers from across the Thames Valley visited schools, colleges and universities to promote conversations on consent and carried out special operations targeting predatory behaviour.

The TVP mobile police station was Banbury's town centre on Monday March 21 to spread awareness of the support available for victims of violence against women and girls.

Chief Superintendent Barrow-Grint added: “This week of action has shown what fantastic work our officers and staff are doing across the force to put a stop to violence against women and girls and to look after and protect our victims.

“Throughout the week we made over 50 arrests, also stopping 31 men for predatory behaviour. Officers also went into schools and colleges, licensed premises and carried out public engagement events to help educate men and women on their behaviours.”

Results during special ‘week of action’ by Thames Valley Police:

- 52 arrests by dedicated Violence Against Women and Girls arrest teams

- 22 ‘Project Vigilant’ deployments across the force resulting in 31 men being stopped for predatory behaviour in the night time economy. This includes four areas using the tactic for the first time. Project Vigilant is an initiative that uses a combination of uniformed and plain clothed officers to carry out patrols in areas outside night clubs, bars and pubs, to identify people who may be displaying signs of predatory behaviour, such as sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and loitering.

- 51 Violence Against Women and Girls incidents attended by dedicated response officers

- 46 public engagement events ranging from stands in town centres to events at hotels

- 159 victim engagements, including proactive visits to existing victims with partner agencies

- 38 educational inputs at schools and colleges with a focus on consent, public confidence in policing and our response

- 90 licensing visits to licensed premises across the force in the night time economy