Three strikes and you’re out of Slough town centre, under a new scheme by Slough Town Against Crime (STAC).
STAC, a partnership between Slough Borough Council, the police, shops and businesses in the town centre, has introduced the policy for identified criminals in a bid to cut crime in the area.
Any person, already identified by the police and STAC as a persistent offender, who is charged three times by the police for offences committed in members’ stores, will be banned from all STAC-affiliated shops which include the Queensmere and Observatory shopping centres, large stores such as Marks and Spencer and many smaller stores including Barnardos. All STAC-affiliated shops have a sticker in the window and any banned criminals entering a STAC store will be asked to leave by security or the police.
Natalie Glover, from the council’s community safety team and manager of STAC, said: "STAC has always shared information about shoplifters including photographs of known offenders, but now with the new three-strikes exclusion policy we will be able to ban the worst offenders from the shops – making shops safer for everyone."
Slough Town Police Sgt Adam Wise said: "STAC is an extremely effective tool in preventing and detecting crime within the town centre. The ‘exclusion scheme’ will further enhance its’ ability to prevent crime, and send a message to criminal that STAC members will not tolerate this behaviour."
