PubWatch helps launch “Ask for Angela” safety campaign in Wimbledon

Love Wimbledon, working in partnership with Merton Council and Wimbledon police, has played a key role in helping to promote the ground-breaking personal safety campaign, “Ask for Angela” since raising awareness of it at the November PubWatch meeting. It was agreed by PubWatch attendees that all pubs, clubs and bars in Wimbledon Town Centre would take part in the campaign.

Originally launched by Lincolnshire County Council in September, the “Ask for Angela” campaign has attracted widespread support across the country, offering a simple but highly effective procedure for anyone feeling unsafe or uncomfortable in a public venue to quickly and discreetly seek help.

Following the PubWatch meeting, local police worked closely with Merton Council to promote the campaign across the borough. All of Wimbledon Town Centre’s pubs, clubs and bars are on board, displaying posters on their premises, publicising the campaign via social media and briefing staff on how to manage potentially distressful situations.

Advice for staff when someone “Asks for Angela”:

  1. Offer to take the person asking for help to a part of venue not in sight of the public or potential threat eg: staff room, kitchen, toilets
  2. Offer to call the person a taxi or assist them in calling a friend/family member to come and collect them
  3. Request the person causing distress to leave the venue, only if safe to do so ie: the person asking for help is out of sight and the staff consider it safe
  4. Ask the person in distress what it is they want to do – it might be they just want to alert staff that things are becoming uncomfortable and might need someone to keep watch whilst they collect possessions from the area where they were seated
  5. Do not allow the person asking for help to leave the venue in sight of the person causing them distress as this could lead to them being followed out of the venue and placed at higher risk
  6. If the person causing distress becomes angry consider calling the police for assistance or follow your corporate policy on this issue

In an emergency dial 999

Non Emergency dial 101