Bedfordshire Police back new app that lets women anonymously report threatening behaviour like cat-calling and drinks spiking

A new app that lets people report threatening behaviour anonymously is being backed by Bedfordshire Police.

The new Flare app is aimed at women and girls – but is available to everyone – and allows users to report incidents where they felt unsafe. This includes things like cat calling, wolf whistling or, say police, drinks spiking.

Bedfordshire Police will then use that data to target patrols by officers and council community safety teams.

It’s part of the Safer Streets project, a major programme to tackle violence against women and girls being led by the county’s police and crime commissioner (PCC) Festus Akinbusoye.

He said: “I am hugely impressed by the relentless focus I see in policing and other agencies to keep women and girls in Bedfordshire safe.

“Part of this is understanding where this unacceptable behaviour is taking place and this new app is one of many ways you can report feeling unsafe so the police can take action.”

The app can be downloaded for free via the App store or Google Play and it takes less than a minute to submit a report.

Detective Chief Superintendent Dee Perkins, Bedfordshire Police’s lead for male violence against women and girls, said: “It is not acceptable for women and girls to be left feeling unsafe by misogynistic and inappropriate behaviour.

“While this type of behaviour may not always meet the criminal threshold, we want to encourage people to speak up and report it in whatever way they feel most comfortable.

“We are launching this app during our 16 days of action campaign against domestic abuse, but our commitment to women’s safety lasts all year around.”The Safer Streets project has brought together local partners across Bedfordshire to improve the safety of women and girls in public spaces.

Backed with more than £700,000 of funding from the Home Office, the programme will fund specialist youth workers to tackle violence against women and girls, an education programme and competition across schools in the county, as well as taking Bedfordshire Police’s Project Firefly county wide.

For more information see the Beds Police website.