What is unacceptable behaviour?
Everyone has the right to safety, whether it’s on a night out, travelling on public transport, walking along the street or in your home.
Unacceptable behaviour can make you feel uncomfortable and unsafe, and comes in many forms, including:
- Catcalling, leering and jeering
- Inappropriate touching, pressing up against someone or not respecting someone’s personal space
- Inappropriate staring or intimidatory body language or exposing private body parts
- Direct or non-direct comments or even using threatening language, terminology or phrases
- If you’ve experienced or witnessed abuse or harassment, which has made you feel uncomfortable or threatened, you should feel empowered to report it.
You’re not "making a fuss" - you’re calling out bad behaviour, and in doing so getting the support you need, and helping to make our borough a safer place.
Reporting abuse to the police
You can report abusive behaviour to the police by:
If you think you or anyone else is in immediate danger, call 999.
What happens when you make a police report?
After you make a police report, it is likely that the police will arrange for a specially trained officer to talk to you in a safe and private way. Their first priority will be to check you’re ok and find out if you need any emergency medical assistance.
If you’re comfortable talking about what happened, the officer will normally have four main questions for you. They’ll understand that you may not be able to answer all of these, so please don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers, the information you do have is still important.
- Who did this?
- What happened?
- Where did it happen?
- When did it happen?
Other ways to report abuse
Crimestoppers
If you want to report a criminal offence anonymously, contact Crimestoppers (external link). They’ll pass your information on to the relevant authority responsible for investigating crimes and bringing people to justice.
Public transport and bars / clubs
If you’re on public transport, you can tell the driver or guard. You can also report abusive behaviour on a train to the British Transport Police by texting 61016.
If you’re somewhere like a bar or club, you can report it to someone on duty, whether bar staff, security or a manager. We’re currently undertaking training with venue staff so that they are able to assist you as effectively as possible if you need help. If you need to subtly ask for help without arousing the suspicions of someone you’re with, you can "Ask for Angela" at the bar and staff will assist you. Look out for stickers in the windows of participating venues and badges on the lanyards of staff.
Workplace and education settings
If somebody has subjected you to abuse at work, whether in person or online, you can report it to your line manager, colleague or the HR department. If it's happened at a school or in an education setting, speak to your teacher or a member of staff.
Online abuse
If you're exposed to inappropriate content online, contact the service provider or use the report button on social media feeds.
If you don’t feel ready to make a report
If you don’t feel ready, don’t want to make a report, or feel you want to speak to someone and get advice about what you have experienced, you can still get support from a range of specialist organisations.