Project Vigilant operation in Bishop’s Stortford

An operation was carried out in Bishop’s Stortford to target perpetrators of sexual predatory behaviour in the night-time economy.

Project Vigilant aims to identify and intercept those who may be displaying concerning behaviour, to protect the public and prevent sexual offences from occurring.

The initiative sees specially trained plain-clothed and uniformed police officers patrol public areas outside bars and pubs. The plain-clothed officers integrate themselves among the public and identify anyone of concern before their uniformed counterparts take action – which may include arrest.

Examples of the predatory behaviour officers are looking out for include sexual comments, inappropriate touching, and loitering.

Potential victims are also engaged with by uniformed officers, who will assess their welfare, record any offences and/or signpost to support resources.

East Herts Community Safety Sergeant Nathan Howson said: “Tackling male violence against women and girls is a key priority across Hertfordshire and Project Vigilant is an important part of this work. Everyone has a right to feel and be safe during a night out.

“We ran the operation over the bank holiday weekend to help ensure that people were safe from any unwanted or predatory behaviour. Thankfully, no such incidents were reported to officers on the night.”

Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards joined officers for the deployment.

He said: “Safer town centres are at the heart of my Police and Crime Plan for the county and Project Vigilant is just one of the many ways that officers are working to achieve this. I have attended a number of these deployments since they launched across Hertfordshire and it’s reassuring to hear that no incidents were reported during this latest operation.”

Having been first launched by Thames Valley Police in 2019, Hertfordshire Constabulary piloted Project Vigilant in Watford in 2023. Since then, it has been rolled out in towns across the county, with more than 130 officers receiving specialist training as part of the project.

This includes behavioural detection tuition, where officers are taught a scientific based process used to detect anomalous human behaviour. The training gives officers an insight into how sexual predators think and behave and equips them with the tools and knowledge to identify if someone’s behaviour is concerning.