The Met and the Mayor of London have joined together with Safer Sounds, part of the Safer Business Network, and licensed venues across the capital to help keep people safe while enjoying a night out!
The safety initiative ‘Ask for Angela’ is being rolled out to bars, clubs and other licensed businesses across London. People who feel unsafe, vulnerable or threatened can discreetly seek help by approaching venue staff and asking them for ‘Angela’. This code-phrase will indicate to staff that they require help with their situation and a trained member of staff will then look to support and assist them. This might be through reuniting them with a friend, seeing them to a taxi, or by calling venue security and/or the police.
Venues that support ‘Ask for Angela’ have been given Welfare And Vulnerability Engagement (WAVE) training. Delivered by the Met’s licensing officers and Safer Sounds, it gives staff the ability to help customers who may be in a situation that makes them vulnerable or unsafe.
‘Ask for Angela’ was originally developed by Lincolnshire County Council and adopted by the Met in 2016 as a localised initiative by its police licensing officers. The introduction of WAVE training in 2017 underpinned the delivery of Ask for Angela and more venues began to take on the initiative.
Organisations can receive WAVE training through the Safer Sounds Partnership or via their local licensing team. The training explores what vulnerability is, how to identify it and appropriate interventions. A range of online assets and webinars are available.
The government has launched the Ask for ANI (Action Needed Immediately) codeword scheme to enable victims of domestic abuse to access immediate help from the police, or other support services, from the safety of their local pharmacy.