Women's safety services to expand in Wolverhampton

The funding has come from the government's Safer Streets Fund

Services to tackle antisocial behaviour and promote women's safety will be expanded thanks to funding.

City of Wolverhampton Council has received £365,557 from the government's Safer Streets Fund.

The money will be used to increase patrols around the city through the Night Guardians scheme and boost police presence.

Safety training will also be provided to night workers including taxi operators.

Door staff and other venue workers will be included in the training to "help them recognise incidents where women may find themselves in a difficult situation," said Ian Brookfield, council leader.

"We will be able to deliver an extra 68 nights of the Safe Haven facility in the city centre, giving people a safe and warm place to get welfare, advice and support, and we'll have an additional 10 police officers present in the city centre for five hours per night, two days a week," he added.

The council said there would also be more portable toilets near to the Safe Haven facility, to try to prevent women from having to seek out more secluded locations.

The funding covers the period until August 2023

The council made a bid for the funding alongside West Midlands Police and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

Chief Supt Richard Fisher from the force said the city remained "one of the safest urban cities nationally and we want to continually improve that and encourage more visitors and economic growth".

The authority said that a multi-agency project group was being established to oversee the delivery of the programme, and would report to the Safer Wolverhampton Partnership.

The council added the funding was available until August 2023.