Caller says an 'invisible force' of police outside clubs won't make her feel safer
16 March 2021, 11:20 | Updated: 16 March 2021, 12:32
Caller gives take on plans for plain clothes officers to patrol clubs
This James O'Brien caller takes issue with plans for plainclothes police officers to patrol pubs and clubs to protect women.
Plainclothes police officers could patrol bars and nightclubs around the country as part of plans to protect women from "predatory" offenders.
But this James O'Brien caller said she did not think that was the solution to the problem.
"The only context in which policing would make me feel safer is if they weren't plainclothes and they were on the streets at night when I'm walking home alone."
Read more: Undercover police officers to patrol nightclubs to protect women
She told James that she would not feel comfortable unless she could see they were a police officer.
James questioned why it would not be uniformed officers deployed on the duties instead of undercover officers.
The caller told LBC she did not think she would feel safer having an "invisible force" present.
Undercover officers at nightclubs among plans to better protect women
Following a meeting of the Government's Crime and Justice Taskforce chaired by the Prime Minister, Downing Street said it was taking a series of "immediate steps" to improve security.
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Among them is to roll-out across the country pilots of a programme where uniformed and plainclothes officers seek to actively identify predatory and suspicious offenders in the night-time economy.
Dubbed 'Project Vigilant', the programme can involve officers attending areas around clubs and bars undercover, along with increased police patrols as people leave at closing time.
