Latest news with #BenRussell
The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
New police patrols to make women and girls feel safe at concerts
The Metropolitan Police are rolling out new measures to combat sexual offences against women and girls at London concerts this summer, as millions prepare to attend major music events across the capital. The initiative comes ahead of 51 large-scale music events planned across the capital, with Wembley Stadium alone expected to host over three million attendees. Central to the Met's strategy are new violence against women and girls (VAWG) patrols. These will operate alongside the V100 project, a novel data-driven approach designed to identify serious sexual offenders and proactively prevent crimes. This operation began on 5 June at US singer Beyonce 's concert at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and already led to police intervention. A person was removed from the stadium on suspicion of stalking and threatening behaviour, while a man was also arrested for upskirting; he remains on police bail. Ben Russell, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, said: 'The V100 is our approach to identifying those men who are at the top end of carrying out the most serious and harmful attacks against women and girls – that's multiple serious sexual assaults. 'Thankfully, there are a relatively small number of offenders who we believe are behind the most serious crime. 'In the short time we've been running this initiative, we've already arrested 177 of our V100 nominals and 129 of them have been convicted for a range of serious offences. 'And this is about identifying through our data the men posing the biggest risk of women and girls in London and taking action in a very targeted, precise way.' He added: 'With our VAWG patrols, there's two parts to them: Firstly, it's about engagement, so our officers talk to the public, really engage with them, having conversations, helping people to feel safe, and letting them know that if they've got concerns, they can come and speak to us. 'But the other part to it has a much harder edge, which is looking at the crowd and saying, 'who should not be here?' 'So that will not be so visible to normal concert-goers, but we will approach people we think should not be there and we will make sure they leave venues and leave the areas as quickly as possible.' An additional 565 officers and staff have been drafted into public protection roles across the force, aimed at enhancing the domestic abuse, rape and sexual offence investigation teams. The Met has also increased its live facial recognition tools to locate those wanted for offences and those subject to court orders, including sexual harm prevention orders. Mr Russell added: 'For us and the Met, protecting women and girls has been one of our number one priorities for a while now, and we're working really closely with the Government on that, and we're supportive of the mission to try and halve violence against women and girls, over the life of this parliament. 'Part of the way we look at our success is trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police, so we track on a regular basis how much people feel that they think we're doing a good job, and that's something working with the mayor's office, we track regularly. 'It's also about just getting out and arresting people at these events. We think if we spot people in the crowds who are committing these offences and are making arrests, that's a good result. 'Equally, if we recording and these crimes, that tells us that the public have the faith to come forward with over three million people coming to these events in the summer, we know that some crime will take place, a relatively small amount, but when we're able to track it to identify it, to record it, and arrest suspects, that for us is a good result.'
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
New crackdown sees man arrested for upskirting at Beyonce concert
Metropolitan Police have implemented new measures to combat sexual offences against women and girls at London concerts this summer. The strategy includes new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) patrols and the V100 project, a data-driven approach to identify and prevent crimes by serious sexual offenders. The initiative began on 5 June at a Beyonce concert at Tottenham Hotspur stadium, leading to one person being removed for suspected stalking and another arrested for upskirting. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ben Russell said the V100 project has already resulted in 177 arrests and 129 convictions of high-risk offenders. The Met has also increased public protection staff and enhanced the use of live facial recognition tools to locate wanted individuals.
STV News
8 hours ago
- STV News
Met Police introduces patrols to protect women and girls at concerts
New measures are being introduced to tackle sexual offences against women and girls at concerts in London, the Metropolitan Police said. It comes ahead of 51 large-scale music events planned in London this summer, with more than three million people set to attend shows at Wembley Stadium alone. The Met has introduced new violence against women and girls (VAWG) patrols alongside the V100 project, a new data-driven approach to identify serious sexual offenders and prevent crimes. The operation began on June 5 at US singer Beyonce's concert at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and led to the removal of an individual on suspicion of stalking and threatening behaviour, as well as the arrest of a man for upskirting, who remains on police bail. Ben Russell, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, said: 'The V100 is our approach to identifying those men who are at the top end of carrying out the most serious and harmful attacks against women and girls – that's multiple serious sexual assaults. 'Thankfully, there are a relatively small number of offenders who we believe are behind the most serious crime. 'In the short time we've been running this initiative, we've already arrested 177 of our V100 nominals and 129 of them have been convicted for a range of serious offences. 'And this is about identifying through our data the men posing the biggest risk of women and girls in London and taking action in a very targeted, precise way.' PA Media A young fan poses outside Wembley Stadium ahead of a concert (PA). He added: 'With our VAWG patrols, there's two parts to them: Firstly, it's about engagement, so our officers talk to the public, really engage with them, having conversations, helping people to feel safe, and letting them know that if they've got concerns, they can come and speak to us. 'But the other part to it has a much harder edge, which is looking at the crowd and saying, 'who should not be here?' 'So that will not be so visible to normal concert-goers, but we will approach people we think should not be there and we will make sure they leave venues and leave the areas as quickly as possible.' An additional 565 officers and staff have been drafted into public protection roles across the force, aimed at enhancing the domestic abuse, rape and sexual offence investigation teams. The Met has also increased its live facial recognition tools to locate those wanted for offences and those subject to court orders, including sexual harm prevention orders. Mr Russell added: 'For us and the Met, protecting women and girls has been one of our number one priorities for a while now, and we're working really closely with the Government on that, and we're supportive of the mission to try and halve violence against women and girls, over the life of this parliament. 'Part of the way we look at our success is trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police, so we track on a regular basis how much people feel that they think we're doing a good job, and that's something working with the mayor's office, we track regularly. 'It's also about just getting out and arresting people at these events. We think if we spot people in the crowds who are committing these offences and are making arrests, that's a good result. 'Equally, if we recording and these crimes, that tells us that the public have the faith to come forward with over three million people coming to these events in the summer, we know that some crime will take place, a relatively small amount, but when we're able to track it to identify it, to record it, and arrest suspects, that for us is a good result.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Glasgow Times
10 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Met Police introduces patrols to protect women and girls at concerts
It comes ahead of 51 large-scale music events planned in London this summer, with more than three million people set to attend shows at Wembley Stadium alone. The Met has introduced new violence against women and girls (VAWG) patrols alongside the V100 project, a new data-driven approach to identify serious sexual offenders and prevent crimes. The operation began on June 5 at US singer Beyonce's concert at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and led to the removal of an individual on suspicion of stalking and threatening behaviour, as well as the arrest of a man for upskirting, who remains on police bail. Ben Russell, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, said: 'The V100 is our approach to identifying those men who are at the top end of carrying out the most serious and harmful attacks against women and girls – that's multiple serious sexual assaults. 'Thankfully, there are a relatively small number of offenders who we believe are behind the most serious crime. 'In the short time we've been running this initiative, we've already arrested 177 of our V100 nominals and 129 of them have been convicted for a range of serious offences. 'And this is about identifying through our data the men posing the biggest risk of women and girls in London and taking action in a very targeted, precise way.' A young fan poses outside Wembley Stadium ahead of a concert (PA) He added: 'With our VAWG patrols, there's two parts to them: Firstly, it's about engagement, so our officers talk to the public, really engage with them, having conversations, helping people to feel safe, and letting them know that if they've got concerns, they can come and speak to us. 'But the other part to it has a much harder edge, which is looking at the crowd and saying, 'who should not be here?' 'So that will not be so visible to normal concert-goers, but we will approach people we think should not be there and we will make sure they leave venues and leave the areas as quickly as possible.' An additional 565 officers and staff have been drafted into public protection roles across the force, aimed at enhancing the domestic abuse, rape and sexual offence investigation teams. The Met has also increased its live facial recognition tools to locate those wanted for offences and those subject to court orders, including sexual harm prevention orders. Mr Russell added: 'For us and the Met, protecting women and girls has been one of our number one priorities for a while now, and we're working really closely with the Government on that, and we're supportive of the mission to try and halve violence against women and girls, over the life of this parliament. 'Part of the way we look at our success is trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police, so we track on a regular basis how much people feel that they think we're doing a good job, and that's something working with the mayor's office, we track regularly. 'It's also about just getting out and arresting people at these events. We think if we spot people in the crowds who are committing these offences and are making arrests, that's a good result. 'Equally, if we recording and these crimes, that tells us that the public have the faith to come forward with over three million people coming to these events in the summer, we know that some crime will take place, a relatively small amount, but when we're able to track it to identify it, to record it, and arrest suspects, that for us is a good result.'
South Wales Argus
10 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Met Police introduces patrols to protect women and girls at concerts
It comes ahead of 51 large-scale music events planned in London this summer, with more than three million people set to attend shows at Wembley Stadium alone. The Met has introduced new violence against women and girls (VAWG) patrols alongside the V100 project, a new data-driven approach to identify serious sexual offenders and prevent crimes. The operation began on June 5 at US singer Beyonce's concert at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and led to the removal of an individual on suspicion of stalking and threatening behaviour, as well as the arrest of a man for upskirting, who remains on police bail. Ben Russell, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, said: 'The V100 is our approach to identifying those men who are at the top end of carrying out the most serious and harmful attacks against women and girls – that's multiple serious sexual assaults. 'Thankfully, there are a relatively small number of offenders who we believe are behind the most serious crime. 'In the short time we've been running this initiative, we've already arrested 177 of our V100 nominals and 129 of them have been convicted for a range of serious offences. 'And this is about identifying through our data the men posing the biggest risk of women and girls in London and taking action in a very targeted, precise way.' A young fan poses outside Wembley Stadium ahead of a concert (PA) He added: 'With our VAWG patrols, there's two parts to them: Firstly, it's about engagement, so our officers talk to the public, really engage with them, having conversations, helping people to feel safe, and letting them know that if they've got concerns, they can come and speak to us. 'But the other part to it has a much harder edge, which is looking at the crowd and saying, 'who should not be here?' 'So that will not be so visible to normal concert-goers, but we will approach people we think should not be there and we will make sure they leave venues and leave the areas as quickly as possible.' An additional 565 officers and staff have been drafted into public protection roles across the force, aimed at enhancing the domestic abuse, rape and sexual offence investigation teams. The Met has also increased its live facial recognition tools to locate those wanted for offences and those subject to court orders, including sexual harm prevention orders. Mr Russell added: 'For us and the Met, protecting women and girls has been one of our number one priorities for a while now, and we're working really closely with the Government on that, and we're supportive of the mission to try and halve violence against women and girls, over the life of this parliament. 'Part of the way we look at our success is trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police, so we track on a regular basis how much people feel that they think we're doing a good job, and that's something working with the mayor's office, we track regularly. 'It's also about just getting out and arresting people at these events. We think if we spot people in the crowds who are committing these offences and are making arrests, that's a good result. 'Equally, if we recording and these crimes, that tells us that the public have the faith to come forward with over three million people coming to these events in the summer, we know that some crime will take place, a relatively small amount, but when we're able to track it to identify it, to record it, and arrest suspects, that for us is a good result.'
