Bradford is to become the world’s first WalkSafe city with the launch of a new initiative to help people make safe journeys on foot across the centre at any time of day or night.
The city’s Business Improvement District (BID) has teamed up with WalkSafe to become the first city anywhere to introduce a free phone app that gives users the power to be in control of their own safety.
It enables users to pick safer routes home as well as share them with family and friends so they can monitor their safe arrival, sending automatic alerts if they fail to reach their destination.
The WalkSafe+ app also shows the location of safe space premises and the live location of Street Angels and the Evening and Night Marshalls.
The innovative app, which has already seen more than 500,000 downloads in the wake of the brutal murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa in 2021, was officially launched today by Alison Lowe, West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, to an invited audience at The Light cinema, in Bradford.
Ms Lowe, who is also Patron of Bradford at Night, said: “I am delighted to be at this launch today. The Mayor launched the Police and Crime Plan with an overall vision of a safe, just and inclusive West Yorkshire and she is driving this work forward in her Safety of Women and Girls strategy.
“This app builds on the huge amount of work already done to help women and girls feel safe, and means we are a step closer to achieving that vision.
“The WalkSafe+ app is another great tool that people can use to help keep themselves safe.”
The launch is being funding by Bradford BID and Bradford at Night with the support of a grant from the Government’s Safer Streets Fund, which aims to tackle violence against women and girls.
WalkSafe is the brainchild of 34-year-old Emma Kay who, as a daughter of a Metropolitan Police officer, was subject to many rules to keep her and her siblings stay safe when out and about. Despite this, she experienced catcalling, following, groping and flashing – events that occur regularly to many women across the world.
As an adult, Emma volunteered at a community centre for people in crisis and saw first hand the experiences women had, specifically their fear of the streets at night, confirming her fear that personal safety is an issue that affects everyone.
Emma’s career in childcare highlighted the importance of educating young girls and boys about issues like consent, gender bias and the importance of preventative actions. She built WalkSafe as she believes technology, combined with vision can genuinely save lives.
She said: “We at WalkSafe are delighted to be a part of this important Bradford BID safety initiative posting safe space premises on our map and the live location of Bradford’s Street Angels. WalkSafe is the most downloaded UK personal safety app and in the coming months we will be featuring more safe spaces, Street Angels and highlighting poorly-lit streets on our Safety Map in addition to our HomeSafe and Get Me Home features.”
Bradford BID manager Jonny Noble said: “Bradford is no worse than any UK city when it comes to safety but we want a situation where everyone – and, especially, women and girls – feel safe to walk through the city on their way to and from work, shopping or socialising at any time of day.
“WalkSafe is a brilliant tool to help us achieve that and we’re proud and thrilled to be working with its creators to establish the first WalkSafe city in the world.
“There is no excuse for any woman or girl to suffer harassment, let alone violence or sexual assault, and we want Bradford to be known as a place where everyone knows that the safety of all who live work and spend their leisure time here is paramount.”
Whilst statistically most attacks happen against women, the WalkSafe+ has been designed to make everyone and anyone feel that they have access to necessary information so they can make their own choices for their own personal safety.
Its key features include:
- WalkSafe – Users type in their destination and share their route with selected friends. They can include an estimated time of arrival so family and friends know when they should arrive. It also includes information as to what crime has happened around them on their selected route.
- HomeSafe – After sharing their route and estimated time of arrival with friends and loved ones, this feature will automatically alert them if the user fails to arrive at their destination on time.
- Friends – Users can add trusted friends to the WalkSafe+ app so they can easily let them know where they are at any time.
- SOS – If users hold down the SOS button on the WalkSafe+ map it will alert their friends immediately that the user is in danger.
WalkSafe is also able to help businesses with the safety of their employees.
Michael Neligan, the CEO, said: “In addition to our free WalkSafe+ personal safety app we also have a suite of products specifically designed to help companies who want to engender a safety culture. These products include bespoke Safety Seminars for employees to help them avoid being victims of violent street crime and WalkSafe Pro so managers can see their team arrived home safe.”
