The retail industry has welcomed the Home Secretary’s Safer Streets Initiative on town centre crime and anti-social behaviour, which calls for meaningful action to tackle retail crime, anti-social behaviour and rogue traders.
Launched today (4 July), the Government’s Safer Streets Summer Blitz is set to benefit over 500 towns across England. Plans outlined in the initiative include increased police patrols near shops and community centres, as well as local action to tackle high street crime and anti-social behaviour such as banning perpetrators from hotspots.
It marks a key step in delivering the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which from this month sees named, contactable officers in every community, increased peak time patrols in town centres and anti-social behaviour leads in every force.
The aim is to support town centres to be vibrant places where people want to live, work and spend time, and restore faith in community policing after years of declining police officer presence on Britain’s streets.
Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “High streets and town centres are the very heart of our communities. Residents and businesses have the right to feel safe in their towns. But the last government left a surge in shop theft, street crime and anti-social behaviour which has left too many town centres feeling abandoned.
“That’s why I’ve called on police forces and councils alike to work together to deliver a summer blitz on town centre crime to send a clear message to those people who bring misery to our towns that their crimes will no longer go unpunished.
“The fact that 500 towns have signed up shows the strength of feeling on this issue.”
Initiatives taking place this summer include:
- in Humberside, police are using real-time mapping to deliver dynamic patrols to target emerging problem locations while reassuring local communities
- in Devon and Cornwall, police are embedding specialist anti-social behaviour lawyers to fast-track enforcement activity
- in Derbyshire, police have developed a Night Time Economy Charter to help deliver consistent proactive policing and coordinated management across the four largest local town centres
- in Wales, Dyfed-Powys Police are targeting seasonal, tourist towns through early police visibility, deterrence and community reassurance
- in Nottinghamshire, police have introduced a new diversionary intervention programme for Out of Court Resolutions with conditions attached for problem offenders
Commenting on the initiative, Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) chief executive, James Lowman (left), said: “We welcome the Home Secretary’s Safer Streets Initiative, which brings a much-needed focus on the safety of shoppers, employees and business owners in our communities.
“Thousands of convenience stores trade in town centres, but many others operate in neighbourhoods, housing estates and villages. It’s important that efforts to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour are spread to all the areas where businesses trade and where people live, work, shop and socialise.”
Meanwhile Hetal Patel (right), national president of the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) added: “This crackdown is timely and welcome. Shop theft is often seen as a victimless crime but this isn’t the case. It takes a heavy toll mentally, physically and financially on shop owners, their families and their employees. At the same time, the financial costs of retail crime will eventually impact on customers through inflated prices.”
The Government’s announcement comes as an investigation from the BBC found widespread illicit trading of cigarettes on high streets, with Trading Standards officers ‘frustrated’ with the powers available to them and the resources they have to tackle the problem.
The ACS has previously highlighted that Trading Standards teams across the country need an additional £140m over the next five years to be able to make a difference in communities.
“Making our streets and parades safer isn’t just about police presence…”
Lowman continued: “Making our streets and parades safer isn’t just about police presence, it’s also about ensuring that illegal selling from rogue traders is stamped out through robust enforcement. Responsible retailers are fed up with losing business to these criminals and feel powerless to stop them, which is why we need to give Trading Standards the resources they need to go in and shut down illicit traders.
“When someone breaks the law they should face the consequences. For too often, criminal activity that hurts local shops has gone broadly unpunished. There’s no point introducing new laws if the ones we have already aren’t being enforced.”
Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), Emily Spurrell (left), said: “As the public’s voice in policing, we’ve long understood that neighbourhood policing is key to addressing these issues, which is why we welcomed the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. It will see thousands more officers on our streets and introduce specialist training for them to operate effectively within local communities, building trust.
“PCCs and deputy mayors will be working harder than ever to target criminal and anti-social behaviour so that people feel safe and have pride in where they live and work. We are determined to deliver real and demonstrable change so that communities and town centres can thrive and prosper.”
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