Ask Angela

On Saturday 22nd November 2025, Wakefield District Police Licensing and Wakefield Council Community Safety Partnership carried out a test operation at licenced premises across the district in relation to ‘Ask for Angela’.

Ask for Angela is a Wakefield Council-led initiative designed to enhance public safety within the evening and night-time economies. The campaign works by embedding safeguarding training into licensed premises and other participating businesses, enabling staff to discreetly support individuals who feel unsafe, vulnerable, or threatened. By using the code phrase ‘Ask for Angela’ members of the public can signal to trained staff that they need assistance, prompting a pre-agreed safety response such as calling a taxi, contacting security, or providing a safe space.

As part of the evening’s operation, staff at licenced premises were presented with a simulated ‘Ask for Angela’ scenario, to assess how they would react and what kind of safeguarding intervention they would offer to support a vulnerable person. Licenced premises are required by their own licensing conditions to promote public safety. It is pleasing to report that most venues were successful in passing this scenario and all venues offered some kind of positive intervention to the individual. Advice and further training will be given to the venues where more support could have been given.

In the run up to the Christmas period, West Yorkshire Police will be conducting further ‘Ask for Angela’ test visits at pubs and clubs across the Wakefield district.  It is important that the public are reassured as to the effectiveness of the Ask for Angela training so that if it is genuinely needed to protect a vulnerable person then it can be relied upon.