High test success rate for ‘Ask for Angela’ in Wakefield
Bars in Wakefield have delivered promising results when tested on a scheme to help keep women safe.
The nationwide scheme, which started in 2016, is a discreet codeword people can say to staff in bars and clubs if they are feeling threatened or unsafe.
Venues are then expected to offer support to that person, either by helping them leave safely or reuniting them with friends.
Fifty undercover Ask for Angela tests were carried out in the Wakefield district during November, December and January, achieving an 84 per cent success rate.
The undercover operation included someone from a same sex couple seeking assistance - the first time this scenario has been tested in West Yorkshire.
Coun Daniel Wilton, Cabinet Member for Communities and Chair of the Community Safety Partnership, said: “We want people to enjoy going out in Wakefield, feel safe and know that help is readily available if something doesn’t feel right.
“We’re pleased with the outcomes of our ‘Ask for Angela’ tests. But we won’t be complacent.
"We’ll continue working with businesses to help them provide prompt and sensitive support to anyone who needs it.”
Ask for Angela is a national safety scheme which enables people who feel threatened or vulnerable to approach staff in venues and ask for help.
Staff are trained to help customers out of uncomfortable situations quickly and discreetly.
Wakefield Council and West Yorkshire Police continue to provide training, guidance and support to those businesses identified as requiring improvement. Helping them offer a better response in future.
Sergeant Adrian Simpson, who led the operation on behalf of West Yorkshire Police, said: “This type of test operation is important in order to assure the public as to the effectiveness of the Ask for Angela initiative, so that if it is genuinely needed then it can be relied upon with confidence.
“The overall outcome of this Policing operation in partnership with Wakefield Council was positive, in that a high standard of safeguarding interventions were offered by the majority of premises to individuals who 'Asked for Angela'.
“West Yorkshire Police will continue to work with licenced premises throughout the district to maintain this level of support for vulnerability when it presents itself.”
Find out more about Ask for Angela at www.wakefield.gov.uk/askforangela