A bag safety campaign devised by Northamptonshire Police crime prevention officer Kate Wright has attracted international attention.
Kate sourced tiny handbag alarms to sell as part of a campaign to cut bag thefts in Northampton town centre. The alarms, which are just over 2cms long, attach the purse to the ownerโs bag or clothing by a thin cord. If the purse is moved the cord pulls and the alarm sounds, alerting the owner.
Kate has been selling the alarms while dispensing free advice – and the much-copied jingling bells – to shoppers in the town.
Now a woman in Majorca has read about the campaign on the Northamptonshire Police website and thought that the forceโs efforts to tackle purse theft could be very useful in dealing with a similar problem there.
Kate sent the woman ten alarms and our bag safety flyer to give out in the shopping centre where she lives in Majorca and put her in touch with the manufacturer of the alarms.
Then last week, a woman visited the Police front counter at the one-stop shop in Northampton Guildhall to buy an alarm to take to her friend in Australia.
Kate said: โThis is a simple idea but it has proved very popular in Northampton – and now abroad too. "I think these alarms have a dual purpose of not only being a physical deterrent but also making the women more conscious about their security, which can only be a good thing wherever in the world you live."
