Women's Safety

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, please call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247

Please bear in mind that this mapping will provide a collection of experiences over an extended period of time. Crime rates in Barking and Dagenham are lower than many other London boroughs.

If you feel unsafe or worried by any of the data presented on this page, please get in touch at: CSP@lbbd.gov.uk for help and support.


Walking alone shouldn't be a danger to women. We're working to improve safety across the borough and want to hear from residents - particularly women - to understand where you don't feel safe.


Barking Town Hall lit up in solidarity against violence against women, March 2021


Community Safety Partnership

The Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) Community Safety Partnership (CSP) is working together to protect local communities from crime and to support residents to feel safe in the borough where they live, work and visit. The CSP have 5 priority areas which includes tackling violence against women and girls. For more information on the CSP and the work being delivered to tackle violence against women and girls please visit the Council Community Safety Partnership Plan.

Barking and Dagenham’s Independent Domestic Abuse Commission also brought together national experts to make a series of recommendations which have been co-produced with local survivors of domestic abuse. You can find out more and read the report here - BD Against Domestic Abuse.


What next?

Thank you to everyone who took part in the mapping exercise to identify where you don't feel safe in the borough. We are hoping to host some borough "walkabouts" to continue the conversation once lockdown restrictions ease further. Add your email address to the "stay informed" tab to the right to receive updates on this.


Safe Havens Scheme

We are exploring the Safe Havens scheme as part of our local response to the safety of our residents. The Safe Havens scheme works by encouraging public premises such as shops, cafes, pubs, libraries and other places of interest to register as a Safe Haven. If a resident feels in danger, feels threatened or harassed on the street, are unwell or just in need of some help they can look for the safe haven sign in windows.

Safe Havens can help by letting residents inside the premises and keeping out those who are threatening them, calling the police or family or friends or simply by giving directions or public transport information.

The survey has now closed. Watch this space to find out more about the Safe Havens launch.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, please call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247

Please bear in mind that this mapping will provide a collection of experiences over an extended period of time. Crime rates in Barking and Dagenham are lower than many other London boroughs.

If you feel unsafe or worried by any of the data presented on this page, please get in touch at: CSP@lbbd.gov.uk for help and support.


Walking alone shouldn't be a danger to women. We're working to improve safety across the borough and want to hear from residents - particularly women - to understand where you don't feel safe.


Barking Town Hall lit up in solidarity against violence against women, March 2021


Community Safety Partnership

The Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) Community Safety Partnership (CSP) is working together to protect local communities from crime and to support residents to feel safe in the borough where they live, work and visit. The CSP have 5 priority areas which includes tackling violence against women and girls. For more information on the CSP and the work being delivered to tackle violence against women and girls please visit the Council Community Safety Partnership Plan.

Barking and Dagenham’s Independent Domestic Abuse Commission also brought together national experts to make a series of recommendations which have been co-produced with local survivors of domestic abuse. You can find out more and read the report here - BD Against Domestic Abuse.


What next?

Thank you to everyone who took part in the mapping exercise to identify where you don't feel safe in the borough. We are hoping to host some borough "walkabouts" to continue the conversation once lockdown restrictions ease further. Add your email address to the "stay informed" tab to the right to receive updates on this.


Safe Havens Scheme

We are exploring the Safe Havens scheme as part of our local response to the safety of our residents. The Safe Havens scheme works by encouraging public premises such as shops, cafes, pubs, libraries and other places of interest to register as a Safe Haven. If a resident feels in danger, feels threatened or harassed on the street, are unwell or just in need of some help they can look for the safe haven sign in windows.

Safe Havens can help by letting residents inside the premises and keeping out those who are threatening them, calling the police or family or friends or simply by giving directions or public transport information.

The survey has now closed. Watch this space to find out more about the Safe Havens launch.

  • We've signed up to the Women's Night Safety Charter

    Making sure you're safe while walking around Barking and Dagenham is vitally important to us and earlier this week we signed up to the Women’s Night Safety Charter.

    We've joined 25 other London boroughs to sign up to the charter that aims to promote women’s safety, particularly during night-time hours.

    Signing up to the charter means we must:

    • Nominate a champion in the organisation to actively promotes women’s night safety
    • Demonstrate to staff and residents that the organisation takes women’s safety at night seriously, for example through a communications campaign
    • Remind residents and staff that London is safe, but tell them what to do if they experience harassment when working, going out or travelling
    • Encourage reporting by victims and bystanders as part of the communications campaign
    • Train staff to ensure that all women who report are believed
    • Train staff to ensure that all reports are recorded and responded to
    • Design public spaces and workplaces to make them safer for women at night

      Since the Women's Safety survey, we have not only listened to what you have told us, we have acted on it and signing up to the charter is just one of the things implemented alongside:
    1. Investing in a new Community Safety Enforcement Team
    2. Increasing enforcement patrols in antisocial behaviour hotspots
    3. Improving lighting in areas highlighted by residents
    4. Overhauling the council’s CCTV system and cameras
    5. Supporting the launch of a brand-new Barking Town Centre police team.


    We will be working closely with local businesses to encourage them to sign up to the charter to send a clear message that they will not tolerate intimidating behaviour, violence or sexual harassment at their venues.

    To find out what else we're doing to improve safety in the borough and to hear from officers in our enforcement team, please head to www.lbbd.gov.uk/saferbd

  • Actions stepped up to ensure borough is safe for all



    Barking and Dagenham Council know that one of the key priorities for its residents is living in a borough that they feel safe in and has low levels of crime, and in the last year the council has implemented several initiatives to ensure this is the case.

    In early 2021, the council asked residents to let them know of areas that they feel are not safe in the borough as well what they feel needs to be done to make sure Barking and Dagenham continues to be a safe place to live and work.


    In the survey, which the council conducted with local women following the deaths of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa, three areas kept coming up as locations where they didn’t feel safe or they felt more needed to be done to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. These three areas were Barking Town Centre, Dagenham Heathway and Chadwell Heath.


    The council also asked residents to let them know things that they believe needs to be done or improved to make the borough safer.


    Since the survey, the council has not only listened to what residents told them, but has also acted on it by:


    • investing in a new Community Safety Enforcement Team

    • increased enforcement patrols in antisocial behaviour and safety hot spots

    • overhauled the council’s CCTV cameras and system

    • increased lighting in dark areas highlighted by residents (can we name a couple of locations)

    • extended Barking Market to the Station Parade to tackle antisocial behaviour

    • supporting the launch of a brand-new Barking Town Centre police team in December 2021


    The council will soon launch a Safe Haven scheme, which will provide safe places for people to go if they feel threatened, harassed or just generally unsafe. The Safe Havens will be located across the borough, in cafes, libraries, shops and similar businesses and staff will be trained to know what to do if somebody approaches them feeling unsafe.


    A spokesperson sais: “We know that alongside a cleaner borough, living and working in a safe Barking and Dagenham is a key priority for our residents, and our recent surveys have reinforced this.


    “We’ve got more Community Safety staff, increased patrols, invested in our CCTV system, made lighting improvements and lobbied for the new Town Centre police team. We listen, and we act.


    “We want everyone to feel safe on our streets, and we will keep listening to residents and work with the police to make the improvements that are needed.”


    “Inspector Mel Gilmour said: “Alongside the council, we want to make sure that everyone who lives, visits or works in Barking and Dagenham feels safe when they are out and about. We will continue to work closely with the council on a number of initiatives from joint patrols to weapon sweeps and joint operations to make sure this is the case.


    “In December last year, we launched our new Barking Town Centre police team and we are already seeing that they are making a positive impact in the area.”


    As part of the campaign, the council is also encouraging residents to do their part by ensuring that they continue to report any crime and antisocial behaviour to the police and if they have any concerns around safety to contact the council by emailing csp@lbbd.gov.uk.


    Residents can find out more about the work the council is doing to create a safer Barking and Dagenham at www.lbbd.gov.uk/saferbdwww.lbbd.gov.uk/saferbd - here they'll start to find videos from some of our officers including enforcement officers, a case worker and a CCTV operative.


  • Council and Police team up for Walk and Talk initiative


    Barking and Dagenham Council is continuing its work to improve perceptions of safety and crime in the borough and last Thursday (20 January), it joined forces with the police to talk to residents and commuters at Barking Station about any concerns or issues they may have.


    The Metropolitan Police initiative, known as Walk and Talk, aims to start a conversation between members of the public and police officers about any worries that they have, what can be done to address them and for members of the public to walk with a police officer to highlight areas of concern.


    On Thursday, there were 12 police officers as well as six Community Safety Officers from the council.


    The feedback from officers was that many members of the public engaged and were pleased to see the council and police working together to tackle any issues they may be concerned about. Police officers also handed out over 500 information leaflets.


    Councillor Margaret Mullane, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety also attended last Thursday and said: “Our recent Women’s Safety Survey highlighted the fact that Barking Town Centre and Barking Station were hotspots where women didn’t feel safe, so I am glad to see that the council and police are listening to residents and putting things in place.


    “We want residents and visitors to the borough to feel safe when they’re walking about, so we will continue to work closely with the police to make this happen.”


    Inspector Dan Bacon said: "It was a successful event, with some good feedback from both the officers and the community. Our intention is to engage with as many people as possible and discuss factors that may contribute to making them feel vulnerable or unsafe. We can then work with the council and problem solve these factors, but in order make positive changes to the town centre and the way we police it, we need the engagement of the community. We are listening"

    Over the last year, the council has also increased enforcement patrols in Barking Town Centre including at the station and London Road Car Park as well as extending Barking Market up to the station parade to reduce antisocial behaviour.


    Also, following on from the Women’s Safety Survey, street lighting and the amount of CCTV cameras in the borough has increased.

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  • Addressing antisocial behaviour at Barking Station

    Barking and Dagenham Council is continuing its efforts to address safety and resident’s perceptions of crime and antisocial behaviour in Barking and Dagenham.

    Earlier this year, the council conducted a survey where they asked women to highlight areas in the borough where they didn’t feel safe.

    In support of the findings, the council has launched a second Street Space pilot at Barking Station with the aim to reduce crime and people’s perceptions of safe.

    The east London station was highlighted as a hotspot where women didn’t feel safe and has also been previously been a key area for antisocial behaviour.

    The Street Space initiative, which launched on Saturday 6 November, will be an eight-week pilot and will look to address perceptions of safety and crime in the borough by increasing engagement through several strands, such as:

    • Creating a platform for busking or arts performances and testing this at different times of the day, experimenting with a range of licensing and permission models to create a new sense of vibrancy to the station through shared experience and distraction.
    • Greening the station through innovative and community led methods and models to create a relaxing, inspired by nature atmosphere
    • Commissioning local artwork for the station to add vibrancy, colour and energy to the space with the potential to humanise and bring a sense of local connection to the station

    Councillor Margaret Mullane, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety said: “Safety of the public, especially women, is a hot topic right now especially following recent events where two women were murdered in London.

    “We’re determined to improve safety and people’s perceptions of crime in Barking and Dagenham and we’re willing to look all the options to ensure that we do this. The Women’s Safety Survey was just the start and there will be plenty of things going in the borough to improve safety from quick fixes, such as increasing enforcement patrols, lighting and CCTV to wider initiatives, including the Safe Haven scheme.”

    So far, a number of aspects have been installed at Barking Station, including:

    1. Large floor stickers showcasing landmarks in Barking and Dagenham
    2. Five planters have placed in front of the station
    3. A huge painting by local artist Emmanual Oreynei which centres around the amalgamation of sounds that surround us in an urban environment and how we can escape through music.

    33 local volunteers came along to help with the planting and many passers by stopped to see what was going on and enjoyed the brass band.

    In recent months, Barking Dagenham Council has also increased patrols and security at Barking Station, Barking Town Centre and London Road Car Park.

    The eight week pilot will just be the start of the council’s plans to improve safety in the borough, however they’re still encouraging resident’s to get in touch if there are places that need looking at.

    Residents should email csp@lbbd.gov.uk if they have concerns about a certain location.

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Page last updated: 22 Mar 2024, 07:15 PM