Night Time Economy
Plymouth is a fantastic destination to experience the night time economy, with great bars, pubs and clubs to enjoy. Safer Plymouth is committed to making sure these venues are safe for everyone. That’s why Safer Plymouth proudly supports initiatives like the Purple Flag, Safe Bus and Street Pastors which play a key role in ensuring a safe and enjoyable night our for all.
Purple Flag
Plymouth has Purple Flag Accreditation. The Purple Flag is similar to the Blue Flag for beaches, given to cities and towns that surpass the standards of excellence in managing its evening and night time economy, and businesses are able to use the logo to encourage visitors to the city.
Plymouth was assessed on the many elements to make it a safe city to visit and to live, such as the emergency help points, the safe bus, the continued work and focus on VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) and the night bus that ran last year.
Areas awarded the purple flag are recognised as providing a vibrant and diverse mixture of entertainment and culture, whilst promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and residents.
A large number of organisations work together to make Plymouth a welcoming and successful destination including the Council, Devon and Cornwall Police, Best Bar None, Pubwatch, our pubs, restaurants, sports and entertainment venues, retail and transport operators, dedicated street pastors and taxi marshals.
Safe Bus
Plymouth is a very safe city, statistically it’s always one of the safest in the UK, but if something should go wrong, we want to make sure we have something in place to reassure and support people.
The Safe Bus, which was set up by Devon & Cornwall Police and a number of local partners including Plymouth City Council, is located in Derry’s Cross every Saturday between 10pm – 4am. The bus is staffed by a team of paramedics, security guards and nearby taxi marshalls on Raleigh Street who ensure anyone trying to get a taxi, including those from the Safe Bus, can get home safely.
“We know how busy nightlife within Plymouth is, especially as the city is home to three universities. It’s always great to see people enjoying themselves on the weekend and we know how important it is for everyone to feel safe.
“The purpose of the bus is to create a safe space where anyone can drop by and access help if they need it. Whether someone needs to get out of the nightlife environment, feels unsafe, needs medical care, or if they simply need to charge their phone so they can get home safely – the bus and staff are there to help.
“I’d like to encourage anyone who is out during the evening to visit the Safe Bus if they need help, especially as we head into September when we know that new students move into the city.
“This is just one of the initiatives in Plymouth to keep our nightlife safe. Our police officers continue to conduct regular patrols during peak hours, both in plain clothes and in high visibility uniform, to deter crime and provide a reassurance to the public. We continue to work closely with our partners across the city to ensure that people in Plymouth can enjoy a safe night out, but if something does go wrong, we have support in place for you. As always, if you need help or want to report a crime, please do approach our officers – that’s what we’re here for.”
Police Sergeant Mark Williams
The current Safe Bus has been running since 2023. It provides a general safe space, medical provision, drink spiking tests and phone charging facilities. The power on the bus is charged by solar panels.
Plymouth Citybus supported the police in acquiring the bus. The partners involved in funding the initiative include University of Plymouth, Safer Streets 4, Victim Support and Plymouth City Council. Partners involved in the weekly running of the bus: Best Bar None, the NHS and Western Medical Services.
Street Pastors
Plymouth Street Pastors (Plymouth City Pastors from 2025) is a Christian initiative providing patrols from 10pm each Saturday night until 4 am each Sunday morning; with each team being trained to offer unconditional care, love and support to any who might need it. Their support is always unconditional and non-judgemental.
To date the team have:
- Resuscitated 2 people
- Helped avert 11 suicides
- Saved at least 3 people from Hypothermia and possibly death
- Given away over 10,000 pairs of flip flops, mainly to girls walking home barefooted, carrying their high heels – this helps to avoid foot injuries from walking on broken glass
- Given advice/re-assurance/directions to more than 2,000 people
- Been able to help after more than 370 assaults
- Removed over 90,000 bottles from the streets in case they get broken and cause a hazard or get used as weapons
- Given away over 2,400 space blankets, mainly to street sleepers. They also carry woolly hats, gloves and scarves to give away to those who need them
- Administered direct First Aid and/or contacted the emergency services more than 1,200 times
- Given away some 700 bottles of water p.a. (either to wash wounds or help sober people up enough to get them safely home in a bona-fide taxi)