Police target sexual harassment during nights out as restrictions ease
Thames Valley Police has launched 'Project Vigilant' in Reading. Officers, both uniformed and non-uniformed, will be carrying out patrols in Reading from this week as part of the project.
The aim is to prevent sexual offending from happening by making the local area hostile to potential offenders through identifying people who display predatory behaviour.
James Senior, Detective Chief Inspector, Thames Valley Police
Non-uniformed officers identify those displaying this behaviour, such as loitering, sexual harassment and inappropriate touching and will then notify nearby uniformed officers.
These officers then will then engage with the identified person, either a simple conversation or potentially making an arrest if any offences have been committed. Non-uniformed officers will not enter venues but instead work alongside door staff and venue managers.