Warwickshire County Cricket Club has introduced potentially life-saving software across its Edgbaston stadium IT systems to intercept searches relating to self-harm or suicide.
The Club has partnered with R;pple Online Safety to deploy its crisis intervention tool on more than 100 staff laptops and throughout the ground’s wi-fi connectivity.
When a user searches for harmful content, R;pple discreetly intervenes, guiding them through a breathing exercise and signposting to free, 24/7 mental health support services and resources.
Warwickshire is the first county club in England & Wales to adopt the technology on both laptops and wi-fi.
Edgbaston Safeguarding Manager Tom Cunningham-Smith, said: “This is a subject close to my heart. Before joining Warwickshire I worked in child protection teams for the police and witnessed the tragedy of child self-harm and suicide too often.
“We’re working in partnership with R;pple and our official IT provider Intercity to help protect staff and youngsters in our Academy from accessing for suicide or self-harm material.
“There is no evidence that such phrases have been searched for on our systems. That’s not why we’re introducing it. We know that suicide is the number one cause of death for young people so we want to do all we can to help children or young adults who may benefit from mental health support.”
Joanne Santos (pic above) from Intercity – Warwickshire’s official IT partner – said: “The safeguarding tool will be enabled on all corporate devices and across Edgbaston’s 170 Wi-Fi access points for full coverage in and around the stadium. This will help us to safeguard colleagues, but also the wider community of fans.”
“Intercity is proud to partner on this scheme to support workplace mental health and help spread the message that people are not alone at the time of crisis.
“The R;pple tool integrates seamlessly as a browser extension or onto Wi-Fi networks, offering invisible yet effective protection without collecting personal data. It’s important we do what we can to help keep people safe.”
R;pple was founded by Alice Hendy MBE after she tragically lost her brother Josh to suicide. The 21-year-old had researched techniques to take his own life through harmful internet searches. To date, the R;pple tool has intercepted more than 110,000 harmful searches worldwide, saving countless lives.
Craig Butler, R;pple’s Network Integration Manager, said: “At R;pple, we’re committed to saving lives by providing an additional layer of protection to those in crisis. Every harmful search intercepted is an opportunity to guide someone toward the help they need.
“We’re proud to partner with Warwickshire County Cricket Club and Intercity to foster a safer environment within the cricket community.”
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