Plainclothes and uniformed police officers in Thames Valley are already patrolling nightlife hotspots to spot predatory behaviour before it escalates—but no one has systematically studied whether their methods actually work. This research addresses a critical gap: street sexual harassment is widespread, yet police and policymakers have largely ignored it, even though it sits on the same continuum as more serious violence against women and girls. Without an evidence base, operations like Thames Valley Police’s Operation Vigilant rely on intuition rather than data. The project will map exactly where, when, and how predatory behaviours occur in the nighttime economy, survey women about their experiences and perceptions of police action, and interview officers to understand how they decide whom to stop and what makes a stop successful. If the research succeeds, it will produce updated training materials, risk assessment tools, and operational guidelines that could be adopted by other police forces across the UK. That means fewer women harassed on nights out, and a police response that victims actually trust—a small but concrete improvement to a system most people only think about when something goes wrong.
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Sexual harassment, though often under-addressed in research and policing, is a widespread and complex issue. It includes behaviours such as unwanted sexual messages, inappropriate jokes, sexualised gestures, persistent hassling, non-consensual sharing of explicit materials, unwanted touching, and indecent exposure. Predatory behaviours like sexual harassment remain overlooked by police and policy, despite their foundational role in the broader continuum of violence against women and girls (VAWG). Given escalating VAWG rates, high victim attrition in sex crimes, and declining trust in police, understanding what the police are doing to prevent street sexual harassment—and how community-based women perceive it—is a critical and timely topic for improving operations. Delivering data-driven recommendations for incorporation into evidence-based policing strategies is essential for long-term criminal justice impact. This fellowship advances sexual harassment prevention and contributes to theory, and to academic and practical understandings of predatory behaviour, policing, and prevention. It has broad societal impacts and is directly relevant to legislative, governmental, and policymaking bodies. The research is in partnership with Thames Valley Police (TVP), which has implemented Operation Vigilant (OV) since 2019 to prevent sexual violence by disrupting predatory behaviours/sexual harassment at nightlife hotspots. OV trains uniformed and plainclothes officers in behavioural observation to identify concerning behaviours before they escalate. The units patrol pre-identified high-risk locations, such as clubs, pubs, or large events. All units observe public behaviour; plainclothes officers only observe without interacting, but if concerns arise, uniformed officers are alerted to engage the suspect and conduct brief on-site questioning (e.g., suspect is asked to provide contact details; to justify their own behaviour). Following, decisions regarding whether formal investigation and interrogation are made. Potential victims are approached only when immediate risks are suspected. Post-patrol, units reconvene for reflection and debriefing. Unlike many forces, which have not implemented hotspot policing despite evidence of its effectiveness, TVP has begun embedding evidence-based policing principles to tackle sexual violence. However, targeted research is needed to deepen understanding of high-risk behaviours, improve officer training, enhance risk assessment processes, and refine operational strategies. The research aims are to: a) map and understand predatory behaviours and sexual harassment in nighttime economy hotspots, including community women’s experiences and the related policing; and b) build an evidence base to strengthen OV, through improving their training and practice. The research questions are: A. In what contexts and situations within the nighttime economy do predatory sexual behaviours, including sexual harassment, happen, by whom against whom, why, and how? (field observations with police on patrol) B. How do these behaviours manifest individually and as a group, and what are the influencing situational elements? (field observations with police on patrol) C. What are the community women’s views and experiences of these behaviours, and how to they view police action at hotspot locations? (survey with community women) D. How does OV operate in policing these behaviours, namely how do they make their decisions about what suspects to stop, how is the stop conducted, and what makes a successful Vigilant stop of a suspect? (semi-structured police interviews) A range of activities are planned to translate the new research into knowledge and impact. These include academic and non-academic articles, reports, updated training materials for OV and TVP, conference presentations, community talks, and police workshops and webinars.
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