Plain-clothed police and better lighting to protect women – British PM

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new range of measures to protect women after a female Londoner went missing and was found dead a week later.

Boris Johnson had chaired a meeting on Wednesday with lawmakers and the head of London’s Metropolitan Police force to discuss ways to help women feel safer while walking home.

They include better lighting and CCTV as well as uniformed and plain-clothed officers being deployed to ensure “predatory and suspicious offenders’’ do not attack women.

Officers would visit clubs and bars undercover to better ensure women were safe in these locations and a higher number of policemen would be on duty as people leave at closing time, he said.

Opposition lawmaker, Jess Phillips, criticised the policy, stating that there were no laws against harassing people in the public realm.

It would not be clear what the predators would be charged with.

This is as a result, after Sarah Everard, 33, went missing while walking home on March 3 and was found dead in woodland a week later.

A London police officer had been charged with her murder.

He will give his plea at a London court on July 9.

If he pleaded not guilty, a trial would start on Oct. 25.

Everard’s death and the charging of a police officer prompted a widespread discussion over the safety of women in Britain.

Thousands of women shared their experiences of being assaulted or fearful while walking home and discussed the measures they take to protect themselves.