Over recent weeks, Lancashire Police has been carrying out a new operation to prevent violent and sexual offences being committed in the night-time economy.
The scheme – dubbed Operation Night Guardian – has been launched in response to a major increase in the number of incidents against women and other vulnerable people.
In fact, data obtained by GB News via a Freedom of Information request shows that, in Lancashire over the last decade, the number of spiking incidents has increased by 183 per cent.
But of course, that’s just one part of the problem. And, of course, it isn’t just Lancashire Police that are tackling these issues – it’s happening all over the UK, with violent and sexual offences happening more and more.
Lancashire Police has been carrying out a new operation to prevent violent and sexual offences being committed in the night-time economy
GB NEWS
GB News has been given exclusive access to follow Lancashire Police one evening as part of Operation Night Guardian. The team for that shift consisted of two uniformed officers, two non-uniformed officers, and Dan Whitaker – a Serious Violence Sergeant, who would be overseeing the operation.
First, we sat down around a table to hear Dan give a briefing on the team’s objectives. The key word throughout was ‘prevention’ – their aim was primarily to stop any incidents from occurring ahead of time, as opposed to intervening once something had already happened.
Then, it was time to head out on to Lancaster’s streets. It was a busy night – the Freshers had just returned to university, and so the bars, pubs and clubs were all effectively packed.
The four officers went on ahead, while I hung back to speak to Dan. We talked about the point of Op Night Guardian, and he told me: “Violence against women and girls is a national issue.
"It is an unfortunate statistic that drunken females – vulnerable females – may be attacked…and we need to intervene at the right point, identify that predatory – that concerning – behaviour that we see out on the streets, and get in there before any offences can happen.”
GB NEWS was given exclusive insight into the operation
GB NEWS
As Dan and I chatted, we walked Lancaster’s streets and observed drunk people milling about in every direction. The vast majority all seemed in high spirits, although, as you might expect, there were a couple of troublemakers.
Then, a buzz on Dan’s radio. Something had happened. We rushed over to meet the other officers and found an incident unfolding.
I spoke to one of the officers after things had calmed down, and he explained what had happened. He told me that a man had previously been banned from a venue, yet in his “intoxicated” state, he had still tried to get in. When his entry was refused, he became aggressive with staff at the bar, and the police felt the need to step in.
The officer told me: “We could have arrested him – he was being drunk and disorderly. And the idea behind us arresting him for that offence is that we can nip his behaviour in the bud… so, he won’t be sexually assaulting anyone, or causing any fights.”
However, within minutes of the situation deescalating, he had returned and started to make trouble once again. This time, the officers weren’t so lenient, and he ended up in handcuffs, in the back of a police van.
Operation Night Guardian is funded by the Home Office’s Grip Funding, and forms part of a campaign from Lancashire’s Violence Reduction Network to create a safer environment for women and girls.
The Director of the Violence Reduction Network, Susannah Clarke, said: “Everyone should feel safe in our towns and cities, but as part of our ongoing work to prevent violence against women and girls, this campaign pays particular attention to the safety of Lancashire’s female population.
"We hope through this campaign and increased patrols, we are making it clear that inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated.”