Safer Travel to provide false travel cards to help victims get help on public transport

At The Security Event 2024, Safer Travel for West Midlands revealed it will be rolling out false travel cards people can hand to drivers on public transport to get the help they need, as part of their Project Empower campaign.

Paula Shorthand, Education Officer at West Midlands Police spoke at the event. She is passionate about making public transport safer for everyone, hosting workshops about preventing anti-social behaviour, teaching people how to report crimes and ultimately providing reassurance to the public transport network.

On 18 March 2022, a plan to increase the numbers of specialist uniformed officers patrolling West Midlands public transport was launched in the UK called Project Empower. The four-year Safer Travel Plan aimed for police and transport bosses to work together and tackle crime and anti-social behaviour on public transport.

Project Empower plans to raise awareness of unwanted sexual behaviour on the public transport network to the police. Paula explained that the team is actively seeking out new ways for young people to report unwanted behaviour, including leveraging technology and mobile phones to their benefit.

“The majority of victims tend to be young people. So we’re looking at ways to encourage our reporting, using QR codes or texting us directly.”

Paula Shorthand, Education Officer, West Midlands Police – Safer Travel Partnership.

One of the most captivating parts of Project Empower is the anticipated campaign coined ‘Ask for Angela – but for public transport’.

This new campaign aims to give victims the ability to voice their concerns without raising suspicion to themselves. This will include supplying people with a false travel card, and if they are experiencing harassment on public transport, they can show this card to the driver, who will know what to do, what to say and how to keep them safe. 

Paula shared her insights from discussions with women’s groups, revealing that individuals may feel uncomfortable reporting harassment to a male driver. Additionally, she discovered that those whose first language isn’t English might struggle to communicate that they’re experiencing harassment.

“We’ve had instances where terrible incidents have happened and victims have just got off the bus and haven’t mentioned it to anyone. So if they can’t find the right words, or just want to get someone’s attention quietly, they can just hand over a card.”

Paula said once the card is fully designed and ready to be released to the public, training will begin for public transport drivers. Teaching them the circumstances of the card, how to handle the situation and ultimately how to keep the victim safe.

“We’ve need to deliver the right training for drivers and transport staff so that they know how to react to the card in the right way.”

The safety initiative was inspired by ‘Ask for Angela’ campaigns seen across Britain. This initiative was implemented across bars and clubs to help individuals discreetly seek assistance if they feel unsafe. This works by the individual approaching staff and ‘asking for Angela’. This code phrase alerts the staff that the person needs help, and they will discreetly assist the individual by intervening in the situation or arranging them access to leave the venue safely. 

Safer Travel hope to get this initiative up and running in the next couple of weeks to continue keeping young people on public transport safe and secure.

For similar articles, check out our Frontline channel.