Undercover cops surveil nightclubs to catch sex offenders

Scotland Yard will send out its best cadets in hopes of reducing the rate of sex crimes against women.

This news comes ahead of the severe needle spiking that is taking place in nightclubs across the UK. The officers will reportedly be working in pairs and will not enter the premises of the clubs and bars.

Sex offenders lurking in the dark

This initiative has seen light because of the fake arrest, staged by disgraced police officer Wayne Couzens, of a 33-year-old British citizen, Sarah Everard. Everard was heading home in Clapham, south-west London, when she was attacked by Couzens who was off-duty at the time.

This led to kickstart Project Vigilant, devised by Thames Valley Police, to combat predatory crime at night, and it is now being tested in Lambeth and Southwark.

It follows Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick's announcement last month, that if undercover police need to stop a lone woman, they will video-call a uniformed sergeant to check their identity.

Head commissioner, Dame Cressida, 61, met with community groups from Lambeth and Southwark to discuss the force's plans and said:

It brings together all of our work to prevent male violence against women and girls, in public spaces as well as domestic settings and online; to target perpetrators, and with the wider criminal justice service, to improve outcomes for victims.

The plan is to deploy undercover officers on 'anyone who may be displaying predatory behaviour' in public settings, and invite uniformed colleagues to intervene if necessary.

Cressida adds:

We want the public's views and will update the plan following this engagement.

Needle spiking

Crimes against women have been increasing on a daily basis. Last month, the UK saw a nationwide boycott of clubs, called Girls-Night-In, wherein the women were expressing their displeasure of going to nightclubs and feeling unsafe.

The usage of the all-too-common Rohypnol or the 'date-rape' drugs in clubs, have had an adverse effect on women. It is also called the club drug, which, when mixed in drinks, can make a person lose their memory.

According to the National Police Chiefs' Council, there were 198 confirmed complaints of drink spiking in September and October, and 24 reports of injection spiking.

The Metropolitan Police Service also hopes that the initiatives presented for additional women's safety would boost their trust in the police and enhance crime reporting in the UK.