Ashfield police and shopkeepers joining forces to keep communities safe

Officers in Hucknall are recruiting local shopkeepers to take part in a Shopwatch scheme.

Businesses who sign up to the scheme will be provided with a radio to enable them to talk directly to local officers, and also to council CCTV operators.

They will also be given clear terms of reference on how to report offences in a timely manner and gather and preserve evidence to secure convictions.

Funding for the scheme is being provided by the Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner's Safer4All funding stream

A similar scheme, funded by the Safer Streets Fund, will soon launch in Kirkby and plans are also in place to revive a previously operational scheme in Sutton.

Insp Jon Hewitt, Nottinghamshire Police’s Ashfield district commander, said: “This is a tried and tested model used in various parts of the country and I am delighted we are now able to adopt this approach in Ashfield.

“Retail businesses have had a tough time during the pandemic and many simply can’t afford the costs associated with repeated shoplifting incidents.

“This initiative is all about empowering individual businesses to play a central role in the improving the safety and security of everyone in the district.

“Although this scheme is primarily aimed at reducing theft offences, it will also allow us to identify and respond to other criminal and anti-social behaviour in our community.

“If the same individuals are coming to our attention again and again we will explore every option at our disposal to regulate their behaviour – including applying for criminal behaviour orders (CBOs) to ban then our town centres.

“We are close to launching this scheme in Kirkby and are currently in the process of recruiting participants in Hucknall.

“I want shop staff to be our eyes and ears in the community and I am confident that together we can make our town centres better and safer places for us all to visit.”

Businesses are being urged to take part in the shop watch programme are asked to email their details to [email protected]

Caroline Henry, commissioner, said: “Team work is one of the best weapons in the fight against crime and Shopwatch is a great example of this in action.”