Manchester City Council is to launch a local version of the WalkSafe mobile app to improve public safety in the city.
It announced that the app will go live on 4 September, reinforcing other steps the council and its partners have taken to make the nighttime economy safe for everyone, especially women.
WalkSafe, which will be free to download, provides users with safe routes through an area, allows them to share their location with family or friends, and sends out automatic alerts if a person fails to reach their intended destination.
It has previously been deployed by other local and regional authorities including Wakefield and South Yorkshire.
Cllr Joanna Midgley, deputy leader of Manchester City Council, said: “The arrival of WalkSafe to Manchester is a huge development and one which I believe with strengthen the work we are doing around safety. In an ideal world anyone should be able to go where they want, when they want but until then, it is important we put measures in place to protect and empower our residents.
“In the coming months we will be working with partners across the city, as well as within our burgeoning nighttime and events sector, and our universities to make sure that anyone has the tools to keep themselves safe.”
Safety charter
The council launched the Women’s Night-time Safety Charter in 2022, offering free training and guidance to venues across the city on how to support and promote safety.
Midgley added: “The response that we saw to our Night-time Safety Charter was incredibly gratifying, seeing businesses across the sector rally behind us to make Manchester a safer city.
“Since its launch we have trained hundreds of staff and provided resources to ensure that venues know how to react and respond when they encounter someone who may be at risk.”
