West Mercia Police to hand out panic alarms as 'extra tool' to help women feel safe when out running
West Mercia Police are set to give out the wrist-based panic alarms today (1 November) and meet with key members from Hereford run clubs to promote women’s safety while running as part of an initiative
A senior West Mercia police community support officer has said she wants to provide an "extra feeling of safety" for women runners now the darker nights are here.
Charlotte House has secured funding for wrist-based panic alarms and is set to hand them out at Hereford park run today (1 November) .
She's also set to meet with key members from Hereford run clubs in order to promote women’s safety while running as part of the force's Female Runners Safety Initiative.
"That feeling of vulnerability, sometimes of being out on your own in the dark, it's not a nice place to be, whether you're in a really safe area or not, you can still feel quite vulnerable," she said.
"So I thought it was important for me to try and provide that extra feeling of safety, because exercise should be accessible for all at any time.
"This alarm isn't designed to give you that full sense of security but it is just there as an extra tool if needed as well as your your running lights and your hi-vis and all those extra things that you would do to keep yourself physically safe from cars and traffic and things like that."
Research from 'This Girl Can' has previously shown almost three-quarters (72%) of women in the UK change how and when they get active outside once the clocks go back.
Police and crime commissioner (PCC) for West Mercia John Campion has backed the alarms and the work.
"It's a really sad fact that it's necessary, that disproportionately, women running now the evenings are darker feel less safe," Mr Campion said.
"Anything we can do to help mitigate that now I'm very supportive of, but what it also has got to do is to make sure we redouble our efforts as to why a female might feel unsafe whereas I as a male might not.
"That is something that we have to carry on working and changing, so making sure police are visible in our community, targeting those causing the harm and reassuring those females to which personal safety alarms are just a part of."