Operation Sentinel

Police in Sheffield are carrying out a special operation to target men who act in a predatory way towards women on nights out. ITV News was given special access to the initiative to find out how it works.
It’s a regular night out in Sheffield city centre and police are on the lookout for men exhibiting predatory behaviour. It doesn’t take long.
Two men have been seen on CCTV acting suspiciously and brought to the attention of officers.
PC Amy Lees is one of the team sent to intervene. She tells us: “They’ve been approaching females, getting in their face, trying to interact with them. Females have been telling them no, to leave them alone, so that’s why they’ve been stopped.”
Our cameras capture the conversation the officer has with one of the men.
“This isn’t the first time you’ve been spoken to by officers this evening in regards to your behaviour towards women,” she tells him.
“Right, so now you’re being told that you need to leave Sheffield city centre.”

Both men are given dispersal orders, which means they have to leave the city centre for the next 48 hours, or face arrest.
Operation Sentinel involves six extra officers on patrol, including two in plain clothes. Working in conjunction with Sheffield Council CCTV operators, they focus on identifying predatory behaviour and protecting women.
It comes after a survey carried out by South Yorkshire Police found that in the 12 months leading up to November last year, nearly half of women who responded had experienced behaviour that made them feel unsafe. The figure was higher among those from black or minority communities.
And almost nine out of ten women who responded said they take extra precautions to help themselves feel safe.
This summer the government announced that sexual harassment on the street would be made a crime with jail sentences of up to two years. Catcalling, following someone and blocking their path will be criminalised under plans backed by the Home Secretary.
Later on in the night, the officers involved in Operation Sentinel confront a man who is shouting abuse.

Sgt Darius Razaghi makes the approach: “If you’re gonna shout at me in the street, come and talk to me,” he says. “I’ve got eyes and I’ve got ears. If you’re going to shout at me in the street, come and step over here.”
Officers smell cannabis on him. When he’s searched, they find a crack pipe and class B drugs. He’s also wanted for failing to appear in court on another matter.
PC Lees says he had also been abusing passersby: “There were young females walking in, he was shouting at them. These young females don’t want that type of attention and that’s what we’re trying to prevent.”
Sgt Razaghi tells us: “[It’s] about us being out and about in the city centre dealing with people who we can see are causing problems and we’re getting rid of them early.”
Natalie Shaw, who leads efforts by South Yorkshire Police to tackle violence against women, said the operation was about awareness-raising as well as enforcement.
She said: “We are finding it very effective, because resources are short and we wouldn’t be putting this much energy and effort into something that we didn’t think was really valuable.
“We try and choose the nights when we can have the most impact, so for example Freshers’ Week.”
South Yorkshire Police have launched a campaign called “Do More”, encouraging people to challenge “microaggressions” against women.
Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Poolman said: “Sexual harassment has devastatingly become so engrained in our everyday lives that people often do not realise these acts are taking place. It is easy to shrug something off that we know isn’t quite right, but there is another way to address this.
“We need both men and women to help, to become an upstander instead of a bystander, and to call out violence, harassment, intimidation, humiliation or misogyny for what it is. We know that if left unchallenged, these types of behaviour can escalate, that’s why we need to intervene at the earliest opportunity. Ask if the woman is alright, get help if needed, take some responsibility and do more.
“If we all do more, we can help stop violence against women and girls.”