App provides extra security for charity workers

Specialist child exploitation charity Safe and Sound has piloted a new on-demand security service for its support workers and outreach teams.

The charity supports young people and families across the county whose lives have been affected by child exploitation including online grooming, sexual exploitation, County Lines, trafficking, modern slavery and radicalisation.

Meanwhile, outreach workers and volunteers from the charity are a regular and visible evening presence both in Derby city centre and in South Derbyshire.

Their objective is to raise young people’s awareness around grooming and exploitation, provide reassurance around community safety and gain the views of young people about services and support they needed to feel safer.

The team has been trialling ‘My Own Cop’, the new app-based alert system, which has been developed by Steve Rimmington, a former police officer who founded Derby-based Repton Security in 2004.

Tracy Harrison, chief executive at Safe and Sound, said: “Although we already have robust safeguarding in place for our support and outreach team members, I was keen to have another layer of security in place for them.

“My Own Cop is a great idea and provides additional support and reassurance for staff in a wide range of roles.”