March 17 to 23 is the first Business Crime Partnership awareness week, as a showcase of the work done by such membership groups to work with police and others to combat crime against retailers and others.
Bristol’s partnership for example which covers the city centre (pictured, summer 2024, film-set security officer on-street), Redcliffe and Temple, and Broadmead shopping districts, has a full five days of events, covering the day- and night-time economies.
Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership (NBCP) employs two civilian evidence gatherers, funded by the county’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC), to work alongside police to target prolific retail thieves.
Neil Cowley, retail crime officer for the NBCP, said: “We’re joining this national awareness week to help spread the word about our work, and encourage businesses to become members so we can work together to reduce offending and bring retail criminals to justice. We’ve got some great tools to help retailers, from our civil exclusion scheme which bans offenders from all member stores, to security briefings to keep staff up to date with who is committing crime where, and live alerts on active offenders, so they can protect their stores in real time.
“Working together with retailers and the police, we make sure information is shared in both directions, which is having really positive results in driving up the charge rate for retail crime in Northamptonshire, and leading the way at a national level in tackling retail offending. Our message to any retailer who isn’t yet a member is to get in touch, so we can show you the benefits that working together can bring to your business.”
In a foreword to the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) recent crime survey, chief of the trade body James Lowman wrote about a theme of ‘collaboration between retailers, law enforcement, and policy-makers to address the root causes of crime and implement effective prevention strategies. It is through these partnerships that we can create safer environments for our colleagues and customers’.
Sophie Jordan, National Association of Business Crime Partnerships (NABCP) said: “We encourage BCRPs to support the campaign, to illustrate the effectiveness and vast remit of the work they do. BCRPs are at the heart of crime prevention, community safety, and partnership working, helping businesses, local agencies, and law enforcement work together to create safer places to live, work, and socialise.”
More on business crime partnership working in the April edition of Professional Security Magazine.
The NABCP is due to run a conference, its first since autumn 2023, on Thursday, October 9 in Birmingham.
