Police Back Campaign to Help Vulnerable Clubbers in Birmingham

A partnership between West Midlands Police and Moo Moo Youth Marketing, staged the ‘Stay Safe, Stay Together’ events at Vodbull UK's student night at Risa in Broad Street on December 8 and also at Gatecrasher on December 12.

Birmingham has more than 200 nightclubs and bars and a large student population. Binge drinking on Broad Street is an issue and girls are becoming the victims of unwanted attention by walking home or getting into unmarked taxis on their own.

Managing Director at Moo Moo Youth Marketing, Charlotte Slater, explains how the first element of the campaign started when two actresses pretended to be drunk and seemed to have fun by talking to lots of people and dancing.

“Then they pretended to get even more drunk and, through the use of props, looked as if they had vomited down themselves. At this stage they sat in prominent areas of the nightclubs with signs that read ‘Drunk + Alone = Victim’,” added Charlotte Slater.

“This focused attention, with young people taking pictures, trying to help or simply trying to work out what it was all about. This gave the opportunity for trained workers to explain the campaign and highlight the need to be around company when drinking.”

The second part of the campaign involved giving branded handcuffs with the message ‘Stay Safe, Stay Together’ written on them, to all girls that went into the girls toilets. Peer workers gave out the handcuffs, explaining the importance of staying safe. Some 500 handcuffs were rapidly distributed on each night so that 1,000 girls took home the message.

A further 50 questionnaires were completed, with 90 per cent of respondents saying they were less likely to go home on their own since talking to Moo Moo's outreach workers. By conducting the campaign Moo Moo engaged with thousands of young people and will release a viral video on YouTube in January to reach thousands more.

One of the actresses, Laura Markham, said: “The experience revealed that the most obviously intoxicated girls are targets for unwanted attention, especially when they're on their own. I felt really vulnerable pretending to be a confused drunk girl.”

Charlotte Slater added: “By using these quirky engagement techniques, we educated thousands of people in just a few hours. The response from the party-goers was fantastic and I hope the message of stay safe, stay together is engrained in them now. All people, when they are drunk and alone, become vulnerable to crime so it was a campaign to remind people that they should never be alone and to know their limits when drinking.”