Anyone could be the victim of an attack

Young people and anyone walking home late at night are easy targets. It’s fun to stay out at festivals or parties until the early hours but there can be a downside. Walking home alone in the dark has its risks too.

The nearest help can be the fastest help.

As a Swing FastHelp user, you define your own circle of responders and decide who your phone will alert first. If you’re in the city, it makes sense to put people you know who live near you, your parents or your friends on your Swing FastHelp contacts list. If you’re at a festival, the nearest help would be your fellow festival-goers!

Calling the alarm could scare off your attacker

When someone answers your Swing FastHelp alarm call, the phone switches to speaker phone mode. The people around you will be able to hear the conversation, which could scare off your attacker.

Swing FastHelp helps you and your friends look out for yourselves and each other!

Amy gets into a threatening situation after a party

Amy is a student and she’s just 17. She’s dressed for a night out and she’s got her new bag with her, dangling from her shoulder.

It’s the town’s first open-air concert of the summer and Amy’s there enjoying the music with her mates. It’s a great place to hang out with friends.

At about 1.30 in the morning the band stops playing and Amy heads for the town centre with the rest of the gang. She chats to some mates on a street corner for a while before they say goodnight and go their separate ways. Amy’s house is the other side of the park so she starts to walk across the park to get home.

In the middle of the park the gravel path is bordered by large plants, intermittently plunging the walker into shadow and blotting out the city lights. Amy hears steps coming up behind her and increases her pace. She digs into her pocket for her new mobile phone with the Swing FastHelp software that her dad bought her earlier that summer. Her dad wanted to keep her safe when she was out alone at night and they agreed that she would use it the minute she felt she was at risk.

The steps are getting closer although Amy is almost running now. She can see her house the other side of the park. Suddenly a heavy hand grabs her by the shoulder. Amy presses the button on her phone that sets off the alarm – it calls her dad and some of her friends. Amy tries to twist out of the way and calls for help. Her dad, who has answered the phone, hears what’s happening and can see from the text message showing her location on the screen that Amy isn’t far away. Amy fights off her attacker and her dad’s voice can be heard from the phone in her pocket yelling at the attacker to leave his daughter alone.

This scares the attacker off and he quickly runs away into the shadow of the park. Amy slumps to the ground sobbing with fear. Her dad is on his way. A few minutes later he is reassuring her and has calmed her down. He wraps Amy in his coat and they walk home together.

What if Amy hadn’t had Swing FastHelp?

Imagine if this was a member of your family. What might have happened to her if she hadn’t been able to call for help when she was attacked, alone and in the middle of a dark park? Wouldn’t you like to know immediately someone close to you needs help?

This story is fictional.

Did you know…

Shouting for help and sounding the alarm can often scare an attacker away.

• In 2006, just over one-quarter (26 per cent) of ten to 25-year-olds in England and Wales were victims of personal crime, including robbery, personal theft and assault (either with or without injury) (Source: UK Office for National Statistics)
• Violent crime is an age-related phenomenon. Young people are more often the victims of violent crime.

Attacks outdoors often remain attempts if the victim shouts and fights back.