Parks offer everyone a vital connection to nature and a place to relax, be active and socialise.
Across the UK there are reportedly an estimated 27,000 parks and green spaces, but for many people they don’t always feel safe.
Women are reportedly three times more likely than men to feel uneasy in parks and that sense of unease only deepens after dark.
The Safer Parks: Improving Access for Women and Girls guidance, first introduced in 2023, was created to tackle these challenges and help make parks feel safer and more welcoming.
Developed in partnership by the University of Leeds, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Keep Britain Tidy and Make Space for Girls, the guidance draws on research into what women and girls say makes a difference – and what helps create places where everyone feels they belong.
Two years on, the second edition of the guidance has been launched at the Police Problem Solving Conference and Tilley Awards.
Endorsed for the first time by Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Police CPI), the document now carries new forewords from Police CPI and Keep Britain Tidy, underlining its value to both organisations.
The guidance is part of Police CPI’s Secured by Design initiative, which supports Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) across the UK to shape safer homes, streets, shops and public spaces.
This builds on its established place in the Green Flag Award scheme, the recognised benchmark standard for management of parks and green spaces in the UK and around the world.
Safer Parks is reportedly built around three key themes:
It offers clear principles, case studies and practical ‘quick wins’ for those responsible for designing, managing and securing public spaces.
Reportedly The Safer Parks guidance has created an executive summary and short video are available in English, Urdu, Romani and Arabic, helping ensure women from diverse backgrounds can participate in shaping the future of their parks.
This edition is said to offer tailored advice for different audiences, including park managers, local authorities and DOCOs.
For DOCOs and police colleagues, recommendations reportedly include using the guidance and engaging park managers and others during Environmental Visual Audits, working with community groups on safety design and supplementing audits with safety walks with women and girls.
The Green Flag Award programme is the UK Government standard for parks and a scheme which operates internationally as well as in the UK, across around 2,500 parks in 19 countries.
Since its launch in 2023, the guidance has reportedly had a significant impact: More than 500 UK park managers and 200 Police Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) have been trained to use it.
Beyond the UK, the partnership with Green Flag Award and their connections to World Urban Parks means the guidance is now shaping policy and practice internationally.
It has allegedly been showcased across the world including Mexico, the U.S., Canada, Italy, the Netherlands and Australia.
Guy Ferguson, CEO at Police CPI, said: “Since 1989, our work has been about one thing: Preventing crime through better design.
“We believe that good design is the frontline of crime prevention.
“Our partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, University of Leeds, Keep Britain Tidy and Make Space for Girls to publish the Safer Parks guidance continues this legacy, extending our mission to create secure and equitable spaces where everyone feels they belong.
“By using this guidance, we are taking action to ensure our parks are safe, welcoming places all.”
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin said: “Women and girls should be able to enjoy their local parks as safe spaces, not somewhere they fear for their lives.
“By working closely together with academics from Leeds and other leading specialists, we know precisely what must change.
“This updated guidance gives us a fantastic insight, but I would continue to encourage leaders across the country to put this into practice, ensuring the words match the experience.”
Dr Anna Barker, University of Leeds, said: “It’s hugely encouraging to see Police CPI endorsing this guidance and embedding it into key policing frameworks, alongside its established place in the Green Flag Award.
“Its growing take-up underlines how vital it is to design and manage our shared spaces with the lived expertise of women and girls at the heart, ensuring parks feel safer and more inclusive for everyone.”
Paul Todd MBE, Green Flag Award Manager at Keep Britain Tidy said: “For the past 30 years, the Green Flag Award has championed equal access to parks and green spaces.
“The evidence of their positive benefits continues to grow each year – yet we know women and girls still face unequal access.
This guidance is a vital resource for those involved in designing and managing these spaces, to support them in addressing and tackling this inequality and ensuring that everyone can benefit from their use.”
Caroline Millar, Chair Make Space for Girls, said: “We’re really happy that this guidance is being relaunched.
“Make Space for Girls campaigns to make parks work better for teenage girls, young women and gender diverse young people- and safety is a big issue.
“We know that research done before this guidance was prepared showed that while 89% of park professionals thought parks were safe for women and girls, only 22% of teenage girls felt the same.
“This guidance is part of closing this gap and we hope more people involved in designing, creating, managing and activating parks get a chance to use it.”
