Met Police: Cressida Dick confident public will back plain clothes officers outside bars

The commissioner of Britain’s biggest police force said she is “very confident” plans to deploy plain clothes officers outside bars and clubs in London are being “well received”.

The strategy, Project Vigilant, forms part of the Metropolitan Police’s action plan to tackle violence against women and girls.

It will be piloted in Southwark and Lambeth, but the force stressed officers will not be deployed inside night-time venues and will work in pairs.

Speaking outside Brixton Police Station after a meeting with community groups about the action plan, she said: “Vigilant, which we launched a couple of days ago, has been very well received locally and people on the street, but also women’s organisations, have all responded positively to this.

“It’s not completely new, it’s been trialled in Thames Valley, it’s being used in a number of other police services and it has dramatically reduced offences of sexual assault and sexual harassment in, for example, Oxford city centre, so if it works there, why wouldn’t we try it here.”

The idea is the undercover officers identify “anyone who may be displaying predatory behaviour” in public spaces and ask uniformed colleagues to step in when needed.

Force chiefs have already deployed 650 officers into new town centre teams, while patrols in open spaces and at transport hubs have been increased.

But the scheme has been strongly criticised by Reclaim These Streets.

Reclaim These Streets have criticised the scheme
Aaron Chown

A spokesperson for the group said: “How can we trust Met police officers to spot predators in bars and clubs if they can’t seem to spot and root out predators in their own ranks?

“The Met have lost the trust of women, and plainclothes officers will not win it back – instead for many women plainclothes officers outside bars is a sinister prospect. The Met should focus on tackling institutional misogyny instead of PR stunts like this.”

Dame Cressida had already announced last month that undercover officers will video-call a uniformed sergeant to prove their identity if they ever need to stop a lone woman.

Concerns had been raised following the death of marketing executive Sarah Everard, who was killed by a serving officer who staged a fake arrest in order to kidnap, rape and murder her.

Initial advice from the force for women who feel unsure about someone claiming to be a police officer to flag down a passing bus or run into someone’s house was heavily criticised.

The Met said the aims of the action plan was to boost the number of criminals brought to justice and also tackle sexual misconduct and domestic violence by its own officers and staff.

Dame Cressida also responded to calls from Mina Smallman, the mother of sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman who were murdered during birthday celebrations in a park in Wembley, to get rid of the “rot” in the Met.

Two officers this week pleaded guilty to misconduct in public officer for breaching a cordon to take take and share photos of the pair’s dead bodies in a Whatsapp group.

The commissioner said: “My heart goes out to Mrs Smallman, she has suffered the most appalling tragedy, losing her daughters in that way and I apologised last year and I apologise again today for the awful conduct of those officers who are currently going through the criminal justice system.

“Any responsible leader of any organisation and certainly the Met right now should be looking around to see whether and where they are pockets of where things are wrong, or just rotten, and get rid of them.”