Colmore BID, one of the UK’s leading Business Improvement Districts, has launched its Safer Nights Out campaign, aimed at continuing to keep businesses and visitors to the Colmore Business District safe and free from crime.

The Safer Nights Out campaign encourages fun nights out while raising awareness of dangers such as drinks spiking, preloading, and helping to educate people to a ‘safer nights out’ environment. The campaign aims to raise awareness of support networks, technology, and safe zones available within the District’s night-time economy venues. The objective is to empower people to make a change to their habits and help others without putting themselves at risk.

Each week from Monday 27 November through to the New Year, Colmore BID will focus on one of five key topics which are important to people being safe and enjoying great nights out in the District.

These topics are:

- Safer travel (Colmore BID works with the Safer Travel Partnership to keep the District’s businesses and visitors safe. The BID fully supports Project Empower - tackling unwanted sexual behaviours on public transport)

- Drinks spiking (Encouraging people to stay safe on their night out, always watch over their drink to make it more difficult for someone to spike it, and ensure people recognise the symptoms of drinks spiking so they can act quickly to help a victim of this crime)

- Personal safety in the District (Colmore BID aims to keep the District a safe place for everyone visiting. The BID promotes the Hollie Guard personal safety app and offers opportunities such as personal safety sessions for businesses with an internationally renowned female martial arts expert to help increase self-confidence, awareness, and assertiveness)

- Responsible drinking (Drinking a lot, quickly, or drinking to get drunk can have serious consequences for individual’s short- and long-term health)

- Awareness schemes such as Ask for Angela and Licensing SAVI (Hospitality venues across the Colmore Business District are being given the resources for their staff to help spot people who feel unsafe, threatened, or vulnerable during a night out. Under the Ask for Angela scheme, venue staff are being made aware that anyone who asks for “Angela” may be using a special code word to indicate that they need help. The BID has also supported five venues in the District to achieve 5-star National Police Safety Awards from Licensing SAVI)

Colmore BID is also helping to tackle ‘Violence, Intimidation and Abuse of Women and Girls’ (VAIWG) through its groundbreaking Colmore Women’s Safety Forum and virtual network. Through this network, a number of initiatives and partnerships have been created to facilitate welcoming and safe experiences for any women who work, visit or pass thought the Colmore Business District.

On Tuesday 12 December at 5.30pm, the Colmore Women’s Safety Forum will proudly host the very first Walk with Women event to highlight the issues around women’s safety in public spaces. The walk will include a number of stop-off locations, including several of the District’s hospitality venues participating in the Licensing SAVI and ‘Ask for Angela’ campaigns, as well as Safer Parking Scheme accredited public car parks, and an update from the West Midlands Safer Travel Partnership on their personal safety projects and campaigns.

For more information visit colmorebusinessdistrict.com