Welcome to CGST
We are Cheltenham's specialist ENTE female safeguarding service provider
Established in 2015 the award-winning Cheltenham Guardians Safeguarding Team (CGST) is a specialist female safeguarding service provider delivering enhanced and emergency safeguarding services into Cheltenham's Saturday night-time economy in partnership with strategic community stakeholders.
Our primary and priority function is to help ensure the safety, security and well-being of women at night. Uniformed and covert officers deliver this through our flagship India Protocol and Project Eve safeguarding initiatives every Saturday night and Sunday morning between 10pm and 4am (except during January service break and designated non-service days).
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Since 2015 our volunteers have ensured the safety of thousands of women and have saved the community, the emergency services, the NHS and the criminal justice system over £1.8million and thousands of operational duty hours.
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Today in 2024 we are an integral and essential component in the safeguarding provision in Cheltenham's Saturday evening and night-time economy.
The India Protocol is our flagship female safeguarding initiative and our core mission. Created after the rape and murder of India Chipchase in Northampton in 2016, the India Protocol has helped safeguard thousands of women and girls in Cheltenham at night.
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Administered by our Nova team female volunteers, the Nightcare Hub is a female-led, female-focused India Protocol support facility located at 1 Royal Crescent in Cheltenham town centre (behind the coach station, between Vodka Revolution and Yates).
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We are deploying a specialist team of plain-clothed female safeguarding officers into Cheltenham's town centre venues to help prevent spiking and sexual offences.​
Working closely with venue management our officers will be looking for the early signs of vulnerability and criminality directed toward women and girls. Any situations of concern that our officers identify will be escalated to venue security, our uniformed Guardian team and the police if necessary.
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The Cheltenham Guardians Safeguarding Team has been highly praised by ATCM Purple Flag. One independent assessor said: "I have visited many towns and cities and I have seen nothing quite as special as the Cheltenham Guardians Safeguarding Team".
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We are grateful to ATCM Purple Flag for this acknowledgement.
Contact Us
Duty phone: 01242 350 330 (Saturday 22.00 - 04.00 only)
email: contact@cheltenhamguardians.org
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