Police reveal plan to keep women safe this summer, amid a rise in violence at concerts

Cosmopolitan

4 hours ago

After witnessing a small but significant enough rise in violence against women and girls during Taylor Swift's Eras tour last summer, the Metropolitan Police is upping its presence and tactics at large music venues and nearby transport hubs over the coming months. Last night, there was an increased number of police at Dua Lipa's Wembley Stadium performance.
The force say this decision is just one part of their wider strategy to help end violence against women and girls, in line with the government's pledge to halve incidents by 2034.
'Why concerts? Well, in large part, because of what we saw last summer with Taylor Swift coming to London,' said Ben Russell, Deputy Assistant Commissioner leading on the scheme, when speaking to Cosmopolitan UK. 'We police festivals and events in London every day, but we're talking about over 3 million people coming to stadiums. It's a big undertaking and presents different challenges from a policing perspective.'
Police have pledged an additional 5,000 officer shifts to help boost awareness of their presence on the ground and to keep watch for suspect behaviour; some officers will be in plain clothes. The increased patrols began on 5 June at Beyoncé's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium performance – during which a man was caught upskirting (taking non-consensual photos up a woman's skirt). He is currently on bail while enquiries continue.
'We're there to engage and talk to people, but there's also a harder edge to what we're doing,' explains Russell. 'We're looking at the crowd and trying to spot people we think shouldn't be there and who don't fit in.'
He adds that while the amount of crime recorded at concerts is relatively low and that people shouldn't be put off from attending, the Met still hopes to be a deterrent, especially given many victims of sexual assault choose not to report incidents. 'Some of these people [offenders] will stay at home and decide not to come out because we're stopping people, making arrests, and sending [them] on their way.'
Known sex offenders and those wanted by the police will also be detected by live facial recognition cameras, and instructed by the force to move on from the area.
Elsewhere, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner is keen to stress that stadium security staff and stewards are well-versed in their roles and the majority are on board with the mission of ending harms against women. However, 'one of the security staff at a venue was filming women in the crowd and they were kicked out. I'm sure the employer will take action there, that's not something that is acceptable,' he says. 'I think [him being kicked out though] shows the commitment of event organisers in taking action.'
The Met is well aware that many have lost faith in the police following the damning Casey report two years ago, which found the force to be institutionally racist and misogynistic. Few women will ever forget the likes of serving officer Wayne Couzens, found guilty of raping and murdering Sarah Everard, nor David Carrick, a serial rapist who was allowed to continue serving despite numerous complaints being made against him.
'We know that people in the public feel we have let them down. This is about wanting more women and girls to engage with us, to feel positive, to feel supported,' Russell acknowledges. 'We are there to protect the public [but] we know we've got more work to do. Officers wake up every day trying to make a difference and rebuild the trust.'
As well as concerts, the Met has a broader strategy to tackle violence against women and girls in London, known as the V100 project, which uses data to track and target the most harmful offenders (the list of whom changes monthly). A Rapid Video Response pilot has also been introduced, wherein if you report an assault to the Met Police they're quickly able to capture video as evidence. 'We're already seeing some of the results; we've more than doubled the charge rate for rape since 2022.'
Cosmopolitan UK has requested the exact figures for this.
When responding to news that the Met is pouring more resource into patrolling concerts, Andrea Simon, Director of End Violence Against Women (EVAW), said while an increased police presence might help some people to feel safer, in order to actually tackle male violence and abuse 'we need to look beyond the criminal justice system; we cannot police our way out of violence against women'.
Simon adds that 'many women don't want to report to the police when they have been subjected to harassment or abuse'. According to Rape Crisis, only one in six women who are raped file a report – compared to one in five male victims – while just one in four women report other types of sexual assault. Concurrently, the BBC writes that one rape in London is reported every hour.
'Preventing women and girls from being harassed, assaulted or abused requires an approach that goes across the whole of society – from education in schools to equipping health care workers to identify abuse and signpost to support, to provision of housing for women and children fleeing abuse, and more,' Simon details.
'Ending violence against women is everyone's business and we need to see greater investment in prevention campaigns that raise awareness of how to safely intervene as a bystander, as well as sustainable funding for the life-saving specialist support services women rely on. Services which are chronically underfunded and often on the brink of closure.'
It's a sentiment that Gina Martin agrees with; she is a gender equality activist and author who led the charge in making upskirting a crime after experiencing it firsthand at a festival. 'More policing isn't a solution. The data shows us policing overwhelmingly doesn't bring justice to victims and logically, the police role comes after harassment or violence has already taken place.'
From Martin's standpoint, preventative measures that incentivise bystander action and investment in safe spaces run by sexual violence and harassment professionals would be a more effective approach. 'We need the Government to consult with specialists on prevention rather than just increase policing, as if that will solve anything."
This isn't the first time people have questioned how likely police-endorsed schemes are to work, especially when it comes to them being enforced long term. Ask for Angela is the name of an initiative set up by Hayley Crawford, District Commander for Bassetlaw (Nottinghamshire Police), in 2016. Crawford is the patron of Ask for Angela, a non-profit organisation, and decided to create the scheme while working as the Sexual Violence (Prevention) Lead for Lincolnshire County Council.
Last year Cosmopolitan UK reported that 'Ask for Angela', which is advertised in music venues and other entertainment sites, like bars and clubs, was ineffective in many areas (despite well-intentioned proprietors).
It was found that some venues displayed 'Ask for Angela' posters, encouraging guests to use the code word 'Angela' with staff if they felt in an unsafe situation (such as a date) in order to receive help and support, but many workers had not been trained in the scheme – and some were unaware of it entirely.
Clearly, there's a long way to go before all venues – be they sold out stadiums or the local pub – are fully equipped and committed to ending violence against women and girls; police schemes like this cannot be viewed as the cure. It's only with true, widespread educational work, that takes the public along with the cause, and by properly funding the organisations working directly with women and girls who've experienced violence, that real positive change can occur.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC's Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women's Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.