I joined the secret police operation protecting women at Harry Styles concerts

I’m at Wembley’s box park and there’s definitely a party vibe. To one side of me, there are England fans, fixated on the screens showing the World Cup.

To the other, a stream of Harry Styles concert-goers files past for the former One Direction star’s penultimate Wembley Stadium gig, part of a record-breaking 12-night run.

But among the football fans and Harry fanatics, there is a secret police operation protecting the thousands of women and girls at the venue. And that’s why I’m here.

So far, a man in his 50s has already been arrested for indecent exposure. There have been seven arrests relating to violence against women and girls at concerts this summer.

This includes a 42-year-old man charged with upskirting at a Bad Bunny concert in Tottenham on Sunday.

The team I’m meeting have dressed up for the gig – one of them proudly shows me her cowboy hat, which she hopes will help her blend in.

Beneath the glitter and sparkles, the plainclothes officers are hiding handcuffs and walkie-talkies, ready to intervene if they need to.

As England fans groaned at the Democratic Republic of Congo’s opening goal in the World Cup clash, one of the officers told me some of the signs they look for to spot potential upskirters or other criminals.

Moments earlier, they had flagged a man whose behaviour didn’t sit right. While most fans were taking photos of Wembley Stadium or posing with friends, he appeared to be wandering through the crowd, taking pictures of people and nearby stalls.

Their intervention is incredibly simple – just strike up a conversation.

One officer said: ‘Just going up to them, making yourself known, can hopefully plant a seed of doubt in their mind and disrupt a crime before it happens.’

To you and me, the behaviour of potential perpetrators might not seem out of the ordinary. But to a trained eye, it becomes obvious.

One indicator officers pay particular attention to is men attending alone, especially if they are lingering around crowds of young women rather than heading into the venue.

‘Yes, they could just be here because they love [Harry Styles],’ one told me. ‘But his fanbase is largely young women and girls. We would rather be safe than sorry.’

Detective Superintendent Andrew Wadey said: ‘About 50 officers are deployed to look for this type of predatory behaviour. What they look for can range from catcalling to being generally obnoxious.

‘We want to tell criminals, you never know who is watching and if you behave in a way that is unacceptable, we will deal with you.’

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