Plain-clothes officers to help keep women safer

Medway Council has approved plans to make communities safer for women and girls

Plans to make the Medway Towns safer for women and girls, including by using plain-clothes officers to reduce assaults during nights out, have been approved by the council's cabinet.

Policing is set to be more visible in town centres and public spaces, with officers to be deployed to identify potential offenders who might prey on women on nights out.

Medway's Community Safety Partnership (CSP) sets out priorities and methods to prevent violence against women and girls, tackle anti-social behaviour and reduce reoffending over the next three years, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It is an agreement between Medway Council, Kent Police, the probation service, Kent Fire and Rescue Service and other stakeholders.

The plans aim to "relentlessly" target known and potential offenders, and provide better support for female victims of violence "where we cannot prevent victimisation".

The CSP also focuses on reducing domestic violence through providing education opportunities to better identify when it might be occurring and how to report it.

The plan requires partners to assess their own performance and report how to improve if they are lacking.

It also sets out proposals to increase the availability of hubs where people leaving prison can build skills and take part in activities in the hopes of reducing reoffending.

A report, approved by the council's cabinet on Tuesday, said: "Whilst Medway remains a safe place to live, work learn and visit, crimes against women and girls are all too prevalent."

The plans will go before the full council on 18 July.