On patrol with police in Southampton on a Saturday night

Those are the last words – or some variation of – I hear Inspector Tim Williams say before we are racing through Southampton city centre under blue lights.

Stomach lurching at the speed, I think about what we will encounter when we pull up outside the bar.

Fisticuffs? Blood-stained shirts? An unconscious person?

I do not get to find out as Inspector Williams and paramedic Jack Ansell rush inside seconds after we pull over.

Now full of adrenalin (rather than slight fear at the sudden surge in speed) I climb out of the unmarked vehicle and loiter by its side, waiting for the outcome.

Police outside Grumpy Monkey, Southampton (Image: Newsquest)

151 ambulances saved from incidents

For clarification, I was not in the back of an emergency vehicle because I was arrested.

In fact, I was invited to patrol the city centre alongside Hampshire Constabulary and South Central Ambulance Service as part of Southampton’s Safer Business Action (SaBA) Week.

Both services are working with the council and GO! Southampton to tackle nightlife-related crime.

Every Friday and Saturday night, one police officer and one paramedic travel together in one vehicle to reduce the number of ambulances being called out to an incident.

Paramedic Jack Ansell tells me around 151 ambulances have been saved from being called to incidents like that at Grumpy Monkey since November last year.

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This was an incident which involved a man allegedly biting a member of door staff at the bar.

Insp Williams, Jack and I were first on the scene with other officers hot on our heels.

Not only did we arrive at the scene in a short space of time, but we were also armed with medical equipment.

The shared vehicle - only deployed on ‘high-risk’ weekends - is packed with the essentials and helps save valuable time for paramedics working across Southampton.

Luckily it was not needed, and the issue was swiftly resolved, but the effectiveness of a shared vehicle and response was indisputable.

L-R: Jack Ansell, Inspector Tim Williams, a Synergy staff member, and Jade McCauley, Operations Manager at GO! Southampton (Image: Newsquest) The evening presence of police and paramedics is bolstered by the Street Pastors, GO! Southampton’s nighttime security team, and the team at Synergy Security.

Jema Paul, of Synergy, has been instrumental in shaping the work around nighttime safety.

Dedicated welfare room

When our patrol takes us to Bedford Place, we find her outside popular nightclub Trilogy.

She takes me inside the club’s dedicated ‘welfare room’, somewhere punters can be taken to if they’ve had a bit much to drink, need a space away from the crowds, or are in danger.

Jema said: “We use this room for welfare and first aid, but last year I introduced dedicated welfare kits for women who have been subject to violence.

“The kits have a blanket, a book so disclosures can be made, and other items.

“If myself, my team or those at the nightclub are approached by a woman with an accusation of sexual assault, I help them.

“I give them a wristband with details on to signpost them, and they also receive a text from me the morning after checking how they are, and with more information.

“I think we’ve seen a positive impact, but I’ve already been doing it for years, so I just made it available to other venues including Trilogy and Orange Rooms.”

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Jema and her team are also hot on weapon sweeps, bag searches and ID scans at venues, and confiscation of fake ID.

Perimeter patrols

Insp Williams said: “London Road and the surrounding area is probably our biggest threat due to dispersal after kick out.

“You have the bus and the taxi rank so there are options, but all the venues here carry out perimeter patrols after closing to make sure no one is alone or going to the parks.”

Police in the city centre of Southampton (Image: Newsquest) During the Saturday night patrol, eight dispersal orders were issued, three sexual offence arrests were made, one community resolution was issued for a minor assault on door staff and a weapon sweep was carried out with security staff, in which nothing was located.

Insp Williams added: “Ensuring that people feel safe in Southampton city centre, at any time of the day or night, is our key focus and we work tirelessly with our valued partners in the city on achieving this goal.

“A lot of hard work and care goes into ensuring the disruption of crime and the safety of those in the city.”