Undercover police in nightclubs is a terrible idea

It has been a dreadful week for the police. A police officer has been charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard; officers badly mishandled the Clapham Common vigil, drawing political criticism from all sides; there have been numerous calls for Commissioner Cressida Dick to resign; and now another officer involved in the search operation for Sarah Everard is under investigation for sending his colleagues a graphic meme about violence against women.

In an attempt to get a grip on the situation, Boris Johnson has announced a new plan to protect women: bars and nightclubs will be patrolled by plain clothes officers to identify predatory men. There will also be a £25million funding increase for the Safer Streets initiative, which will mean extra lighting and CCTV for dangerous areas.

There are numerous potential problems with this plan. Firstly, plain clothes police officers hardly act as a deterrent. Will creepy men be dissuaded by the mere suggestion that there might be an undercover police officer who might just see something in a dark, noisy, crowded space? It seems woefully naive to think it will.