Bath has gained the Safer Business Award at a recent presentation.
The award was made by Richard Barron, regional manager for Action Against Business Crime, to the Mayor of Bath, Peter Metcalfe, and chairman of Bath and North East Somerset Council, Phyllis Gay.
Mr Metcalfe said: "This is a great achievement for the business community in Bath. It will strengthen the overall quality of life and, I believe, help continue economic prosperity." Richard Barron said the status would act as a warning to criminals not to come to Bath. He said: “Bath isn’t a city that is perceived to have a crime problem, but that does not mean the city can become complacent. You cannot stand still in the fight against crime."
Paul Rowlandson, community safety director of the Government Office for the South West, said having the extra accolade would entice businesses to Bath. "The truth is, businesses will set up somewhere where the chief executive knows he will not go back to his car to find it on bricks and where there is a good school for his kids," Mr Rowlandson said. "Perception of crime is one of those things that is difficult to judge. But here there is the organisation where people get together and discuss if there has been a downturn in business or increase in crime and find out why. If there aren’t organisations looking at causes of crime and the reasons behind it, the police are dealing with the same crimes over and over and are running flat out to stand still."
