The streets surrounding Wembley Stadium are alive with excitement, as thousands of Harry Styles fans flock to see the former One Direction star perform. However, beneath the surface, a secret police operation is underway, dedicated to protecting the thousands of women and girls attending the concerts.
As part of this operation, roughly 50 officers, both in uniform and plain clothes, are deployed to patrol the area, keeping a watchful eye out for potential predators. So far, one man in his 50s has already been arrested for indecent exposure, and there have been seven arrests relating to violence against women and girls at concerts this summer.
The officers I spoke to are trained to spot certain behaviours, which can be indicative of potential upskirters or other criminals. One officer explained that they look for men who are lingering around crowds of young women, rather than heading into the venue. 'Yes, they could just be here because they love [Harry Styles],' they said. 'But his fanbase is largely young women and girls. We would rather be safe than sorry.'
The team uses a simple yet effective approach to intervene - just striking up a conversation. One officer explained, 'Just going up to them, making yourself known, can hopefully plant a seed of doubt in their mind and disrupt a crime before it happens.'
The presence of these plainclothes officers is reassuring, especially for the thousands of women and girls attending the concerts. As Detective Superintendent Andrew Wadey said, 'About 50 officers are deployed to look for this type of predatory behaviour. What they look for can range from catcalling to being generally obnoxious. We want to tell criminals, you never know who is watching and if you behave in a way that is unacceptable, we will deal with you.'
