Worksop pubs to receive training in Ask for Angela scheme as campaign relaunches

The Ask for Angela campaign, created by Inspector Hayley Crawford, Nottinghamshire Police’s Bassetlaw district commander, is being rolled out across licensed venues in Worksop and Retford to support people in unsafe situations.

Pubs, bars and other venues will place a poster in toilets promoting a ‘safe word’ for people to use if they feel they are in danger or in an uncomfortable situation.

The distressed person can then approach the bar and discreetly seek help by approaching venue staff and asking for ‘Angela’, a fictitious member of staff.

Bar staff and managers will be given training on using the scheme by Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid, in partnership with Communities Inc.

By asking for ‘Angela’, it will indicate the person needs help with their situation and a trained member of staff will then take them to a safe location and look to support and assist them.

This could mean reuniting them with a friend, seeing them to a taxi, or by calling venue security and the police when required.

Insp Crawford created the Ask for Angela campaign in 2016 while working as a strategic lead for sexual violence and abuse for Lincolnshire Council.

The campaign was named Ask for Angela as a tribute to Angela Crompton, who was abused and killed by her husband in 2012.

Insp Crawford said: “Angela was a good friend of my best friend and her murder devastated those who knew her.

“By using the name of ‘Angela’ for this campaign it felt like a fitting dedication to her as now she was helping to save other victims of abuse.

“No-one should ever be in a situation where they feel unsafe, and I hope by rolling this project out across Bassetlaw, and eventually across all areas of Nottinghamshire, people will feel safer on a night out or date knowing help will be there should it be needed.”

The campaign has been relaunched in Bassetlaw to put the scheme back into the forefront now that bars and pubs are running as normal following the pandemic.

Partners supporting the Ask for Angela scheme include Nottinghamshire Police, Bassetlaw Council, Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner Caroline Henry, Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid and the North Notts Business Improvement District.

Staff in licensed Bassetlaw venues, which have signed up and are already familiar with the initiative, will receive full training in due course.

Elin Devitt, Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid business development coordinator, said the training is about creating a ‘positive and safe environment’ for everybody, and giving bar staff the confidence to help someone if they ask for ‘Angela’.

The training will be given face-to-face to staff at venues at a time that suits them, and will be paid for by the latest round of the government’s Safer Streets funding.

The BID will be handing out posters promoting the scheme to venues, as well as toolkits for staff. This includes Worksop pubs The Liquorice Gardens, The Unicorn, The Lockside, and The White Lion among others.

Joe Sentance, BID ambassador, hailed the ‘brilliant’ scheme, saying: “If it helps just one person to get the help they need and get home safely then it’s done its job.”