The Crimestopper FRS helpline will operate 24/7, 365 days a year

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) has announced that it is the first fire and rescue service in the UK to introduce the new Crimestoppers FRS Speak Up advice line and website.

The service launched on Thursday 6 April and will allow any SWFRS staff concerned by inappropriate behaviours or practices to raise their concerns with Crimestoppers directly, confidentially and anonymously.

This new service will provide a safe space for SWFRS staff to speak up about things that aren’t right, including discrimination and harassment, misogyny and violence against women and girls, fraud and corruption and health and safety breaches. The anonymity of the new service will ensure that the person speaking up can be confident that they will not face any negative repercussions.

Assistant Chief Officer for People Services, Alison Reed, said: “As a Service, we are committed to making SWFRS a safe place for everyone to work. Although we have a number of existing ways for staff to raise concerns, we know that speaking up, especially about your employer or colleagues, can be difficult. This new service will provide an additional tool for staff to speak up and is completely separate to the existing mechanisms available to them.”

The new Crimestoppers FRS Speak Up service will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and can be accessed through a dedicated phone number, website or mobile app. Staff can raise concerns through their line manager, the reporting concerns e-mail account or via the whistleblowing procedure. The introduction of this service will provide SWFRS staff with an additional, anonymous tool to speak up about anything inappropriate they observe or experience.

Ruth McNee, Head of Business Development at the charity Crimestoppers, said: “As an independent charity, Crimestoppers is at the forefront of anonymous and confidential reporting for many organisations across the UK. We are delighted to be working with SWFRS who are the first fire service nationally to sign up to the FRS Speak Up reporting service. FRS Speak Up enables everyone within SWFRS to report their concerns either 100% anonymously or confidentially, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

SWFRS’s decision to adopt the new Crimestoppers FRS Speak Up service aligns with its commitment to promote and maintain high standards of ethical behaviour, to prevent corruption and to encourage its staff to report any wrongdoing. The anonymity of the reporting mechanism will ensure that