WORK to deter and reduce sexual assaults and incidents of indecent exposure on the Basingstoke Canal towpath has earned Surrey Police a prestigious national award from the Home Office.
The county force won the overall Tilley Award for a project that involved installing extra CCTV cameras and signage and setting up Canal Watch, with patrols staffed by local volunteers.
The award was given in a ceremony that was part of the National Problem-Solving Conference.
However, two days later, a man sexually exposed himself to a teenage girl on the towpath.The incident happened close to Redding Way at around 7.55am on 20 October.
Lisa Townsend, the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), said: “The incident sadly highlights why the project along the Basingstoke Canal is so important.
“A huge amount of work has gone into improving the towpath so that those using it, particularly women and girls, can feel safer and everyone involved should feel rightly proud of what has been achieved over the last 18 months.“But we must all remain vigilant and if anyone does see any suspicious activity – please report it to police immediately so that action can be taken.”
Police described the offender as white, with tanned skin, around 5ft 5 and between 30-40 years old. He was wearing joggers and a blue baseball cap.
It follows the sexual assault of a woman on the towpath in Brookwood a few weeks earlier, between 7pm and 8pm on 23 September. The woman was inappropriately touched by a man described as white, in his late forties or early fifties, and around 6ft tall with short dark coloured stubble. He was wearing a black beanie hat, a hooded top with a long black puffer-style coat and navy blue joggers which had two white stripes down the side. He was also wearing white trainers.
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A police spokesman said: “At this time there is no indication the two incidents are linked, but we will be completing a thorough investigation and have not ruled this out as a possibility.”
The project that won the Tilley Award was paid for by £175,000 from the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund to improve security measures along the 13-mile canal path after a number of reports of indecent exposure in the area since 2019.
The Canal Watch volunteers, who began patrols in April last year, and officers from the Woking neighbourhood policing team were also given electric bikes so they could be more effective.
Other steps included cutting down overgrown shrubbery and removing graffiti.
The project will now be put forward for an international award.
Mrs Townsend said: “I’m absolutely delighted that all the hard work put in by both our amazing local policing team and everyone involved in this project has been recognised with this fantastic award.
“It makes me incredibly proud to see the funding my office was able to secure make a real difference to the local community and ensure it is a much safer place, particularly for women and girls.”
Ellie Vesey-Thompson, the deputy PCC, attended the award ceremony and said: “Schemes like this can make a huge difference to how safe people in our communities feel here in Surrey. It’s a huge achievement for the force, and a reflection of the hard work and dedication of all of those involved.”
Alison Barlow, the Temporary Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing, said: “Winning this year’s overall Tilley Award for our project to make the Basingstoke Canal in Woking a safer place for all who use it – especially for women and girls – is a huge achievement.
“This is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of everyone involved, and shows the true power of local policing teams working in partnership with the community.”