We spoke in August 2004 to Iain Bowles, in Dundee, the DUNCAN – (DUNdee Co-ordinated Anticrime Network) scheme manager.
The former police officer was then one year into his post. From the November print mag: hereโs an update on the work since – which includes some very practical private security co-operation with police.
For partnership work in action, Iain Bowles points to the 24-hours guards at the Overgate shopping centre in Dundee city centre. Their control room has the retail radio, that the night-time economy of pubs and clubs uses, like the day-time economy of shops. Some of the Overgate CCTV cameras can view some of the city centre night-life. The police control room canโt spare the resources to have a retail radio. What then if a door steward has a โcode redโ – an incident requiring a police response – or a search at the door has revealed some drugs, that requires someone to be detained for the police? Before, the door man would have to make a โphone call, which would leave a venue with one fewer person on the door. Nor would the door staff have an idea of how soon police would attend.
Vigilant
The Overgate Centre has agreed for its night guards to log and relay incidents by a phoned 999 if necessary to Tayside Police. The Overgate control room over the radio to the door staff can advise if a police unit has been dispatched – which is important on the ground, when there feels a big difference between waiting three minutes for a police response and ten minutes. By logging incidents there can be no more anecdotes of venues claiming police kept them waiting; thereโs facts. As Iain puts it, such co-operation is closing a gap. The guards enjoy the extra work, because, as with much night-time guarding, the duties can be mundane. This way, while guarding the centre remains the operatorsโ prime purpose, this added purpose means the shopping centre guards actually become more aware of what is going on around the site.
Vigilant
As reported last year, Iain Bowles, a former police sergeant, works within the city centre management part of the councilโs economic development department, funded by the Scottish Executive, and retail and other member fees. The scheme has carried out 60 exclusion notices against shop thieves, and two anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs). Iain reports that the courts agreed to make the ASBOs conditions for named premises in the DUNCAN scheme rather than for geographic areas. The reason for not seeking a blanket area ban is that the shop thief – in most cases, Iain reports, with a chaotic lifestyle due to substance use – may need to go to the area for treatment. Such an ASBO for shoplifting, a first in Scotland, was featured in the BBC 1 Frontline Scotland documentary series in April.
โSIA, thank Godโ
Iainโs role has been, like other scheme managers around the UK, of co-ordinating business and other partners, whether in person in meetings, or by bringing in policies to allow partners to data-share, and reach standards. The partners were there before Iain; he simply stitches together. Say thereโs a meeting or seminar; a business can offer a venue. Iain notes that the SIA is coming into Scotland – โthank Godโ – and Dundee is looking into the Best Bar None accreditation scheme for pubs and clubs. Manchester started its own scheme, whereby a pub or club meets standards on lighting, CCTV, door policy, first aid and so on.
Enforcement
The Overgateโs work with police sounds like police community safety accreditation in action. Professional Security raised that with Iain Bowles. In his answer he raised an important point: is police accreditation right for private guard forces and local authority wardens, when such forces are not in lieu of police. Indeed if wardens were accredited with police enforcement powers, not only might wardens be accused of being โpolicing on the cheapโ, they would be less able to do the job they were set up to do. Iain Bowlesโ argument: the council wardens, and the day-time city centre ambassadors (Dundee is looking into night-time ambassadors) are there to be eyes and ears, reporting issues such as litter to the right authority. Iainโs point: if you want enforcement, put more bobbies on the beat.
What next
The question whatโs in the pipeline provokes a chuckle from Iain Bowles: โhundreds of thingsโ, he replies. He makes a wider point: that if the governments in Scotland and the UK are serious about tackling substance abuse, they have to tackle retail crime. โBut it isnโt just government,โ he adds. โIโll stick my neck out – Debenhams stand out as one company that has really got its act together on crime reduction.โ He points to how that retailerโs financial controller has charge of stock loss. Some other big companies, he says, have to grasp the nettle: some will not have CCTV because they do not want to โpryโ on customers; will not join town and city crime reduction schemes; will not look inward at their own losses. Iain concludes: โIf they are making it easy for criminals, criminals will come back.โ Drugs is the problem, Iain stresses, and he does not want to judge, adding that some of the addicts are second- and third-generation, who have never had a chance in life. Yet it may take nine months for someone who has asked for drug rehabilitation to begin a programme, which is something of an indictment, he says.
Funding
As seems to be the way, the three-year Scottish Executive funding for the Safer City partnerships such as Dundee ends next year leaving the schemes on tenterhooks …
