Protecting retailers and their employees from crime is a responsibility I take very seriously. Through the many meetings I have with businesses and town centre partners, I have a stronger understanding of the frustration and distress shop owners face when their livelihoods come under constant threat. Shoplifting hurts businesses and it hurts the economy. It puts the jobs of honest and hard-working people on the line. We must work even harder to protect retailers.
When I was elected, I made Business Crime a key priority in my Police and Crime Plan. But as most of you will know, I’m a PCC of action not words so I got to work on identifying solutions. It was clear that many retailers felt unsupported, and this is something I have worked hard to change.
I took the opportunity to increase our engagement with the local business community, meeting members of our Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) during community days and patch walks and maintaining a presence at regular roundtables with the Federation of Independent Retailers, attended by my Deputy Rani Mahal. What has emerged out of these discussions is a raft of innovative potential projects, but we are still learning. Several exciting ideas are being trialled in other parts of the country and we are monitoring these closely to determine whether we could benefit from the same approach.
The roll out of the Disc information system is an excellent example of the value in partnership working. Disc is an information sharing App which enables business owners to share information about incidents and offenders between themselves so they can better protect themselves against crime and keep their property, employees and customers safe. It also enables them to report incidents to the police quickly.
Disc is already working very effectively in Hinckley, in combination with the retail radio scheme, and other areas of the county are seeking to come onboard.
One of the other ways I continue to support businesses is through the funding I invest towards improving our high street safety infrastructure. I recently provided Leicester City Community Safety Partnership (CSP) with £7,750 towards the cost of temporary deployable CCTV cameras in crime/ASB hotspots in the city.
A town centre retail radio scheme led by North-West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) also received £1,500 from my office to support an upgrade of staff handsets. The new systems have a tracking feature to help prevent offenders moving from location to location. A similar scheme, already in operation in Hinckley and Bosworth, will soon be expanded, with a £3,269 funding contribution from my office to purchase six additional retail radios and batteries. The Radio Link initiative is part of a successful Retail Watch Scheme in Hinckley Town Centre.
These successful schemes have one thing in common – strong and effective partnerships. While it is vital the force provides a robust response to the issues impacting retailers, clearly, they can’t fight them alone.
Businesses have really embraced the partnership approach and there are so many avenues for exploration further down the line. We are fortunate to live in a safe part of the world, but we want to keep it that way and ensure those who run businesses and employ local people in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland receive the support they need to thrive.
Rupert Matthews
Police & Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland
Media Enquiries:
Sallie Blair
Better Times
Telephone 01283 821012
Mobile 07702 541401
Posted on Friday 19th January 2024