Undercover officers to mingle with Christmas revellers

Uniformed and plain clothed police officers will act as disruption teams to prevent sexual offences and violence against women from taking place during nights out in the lead-up to Christmas, the force has confirmed.

Project Vigilant – a pilot being carried out by the force – will see plain clothed officers with specialist training acting as spotters during busy evenings, identifying people who appear to present a risk to others by displaying sexually predatory behaviour.

These concerns will be reported to colleagues in uniform, who will step in to disrupt potentially criminal behaviour before it happens.

Chief Inspector Dominic Jones said: “This is an exciting new project for Dyfed-Powys Police, and one we’re looking forward to getting off the ground. We’re confident Project Vigilant will have a great impact in helping to reassure and protect women during the night-time economy.

“Women should feel safe on a night out and should not feel the need to change their behaviour to stay so. By looking out for potential predators, we will ultimately be changing the behaviours of those who could cause harm, and making our communities safer for all.”