General
Published: June 26, 2023 | Updated: 26th June 2023
For Jade McCauley-Deehan, Operations Manger for GO! Southampton (the city centre’s business improvement district), keeping Southampton’s streets safe, particularly for women and girls, is a high priority.
The Southampton resident and mum of two girls is passionate about making a difference for local businesses, residents and visitors.
Jade McCauley-Deehan, Operations Manager at GO! Southampton
“I am pleased to be working in Southampton. I am a local resident and it was timely that I was brought in, as the city has just gained Purple Flag status.
“I’ve actually been a Purple Flag assessor since 2016, which is a voluntary role. I know what you’re thinking but I did not do the Southampton assessment! They got it because they deserved it.
“The assessors noted that the city was great at working with it partners. And noted how clean and free of graffiti the city was.”
The Purple Flag award is given to areas with a diverse mix of dining, entertainment and culture, recognising a safe, vibrant and varied night out.
“We work with the police, Southampton City Council and night-time economy venues, to encourage people to come out and enjoy Southampton, especially through the cost-of-living crisis.
“Making people choose a night out is important and we could not be doing that without our security teams, the police, our venues and the council.
“The fact that we’ve got an night-time economy strategy is important. It is something I’ve been tasked with picking up and looking at the recommendations from that report, and making sure we work with our partners to implement and futureproof our night time economy, and make sure that nothing slips.”
Jade and the wider GO! Southampton team work with SWL Security to keep the city’s streets safe both night and day.
Dean Rawson, Media & Marketing Administrator at SWL, explained: “In Southampton we have five security wardens: three during the day and two at night.
“The vast majority of what they’re dealing with is theft, but there’s actually around 13 or 14 different offences they’ve either arrested people for or assisted on, including physical abuse and anti-social behaviour.
Dean Rawson, Media & Marketing Administrator at SWL Security Services
“Each of our wardens has to first pass their SIA training, but in our view the standards for that a pretty low, so we supply them with a further week’s intensive training – both classroom based and physical – and then they go through another couple of weeks of on-site training followed by refresher training around every six months.
“As a company we’re passionate about making security a career for our guys and girls, so we want to keep developing their training further. It’s very much not an ‘off you go’, we like to think its an investment in their future.
“It also really takes the right type of person because one minute they need to be rough and tough enough to deal with some pretty nasty people, but then five minutes later they might need to chat to help a child who’s lost their parent or give someone directions.”
Jade explained the role the night-time security wardens play: “They primarily focus on safety, particularly keeping an eye out for vulnerable young women or girls. Yes, they’re looking for predatory people, but they might also be helping young girls who need assistance finding friends or getting home on a night out.”
The other side to this is the business crime partnership. Two ex-police officers, Carol and Martin, advise the GO! Southampton team on crime prevention and run the disciplinary reporting site.
“That’s basically our ‘naughty list’”, Jade explained. “It keeps track of who to look out for, who shouldn’t be allowed on the premises. For example, if someone is picked up on a night out and banned, they get banned from all venues.
“These can be one or two year bans which cover the whole city, getting the message out their that that behaviour is not welcome in any of our licensed venues – you won’t be going out with your friends for a year or two.”
Jade’s work with the BID is not just about safety and security, however.
“Some of our more general activities with the BID are the events.
“We don’t run them, but we help with sponsoring events in the city and would usually try to get a stand there to promote our businesses and services.
“One of our biggest events is Christmas, when we’ll work alongside the council. And it’s definitely working, our footfall figures show we’re a destination for Christmas shopping on the south coast.”
