May’s print edition of Professional Security will report on crime and disorder reduction partnership work around the UK, and Action Against Business Crime (AABC). Meanwhile:
Action Against Business Crime, a joint venture between the Home Office and the British Retail Consortium, is launching what it calls the UK’s first national organisation to represent Business Reduction Crime Partnerships (BRCPs).
BRCPs operate independently in towns and cities around the UK, bringing businesses, police and local authorities together to exchange information about offenders, set-up radio links and share crime prevention advice. A national organisation, says AABC, will now give the partnerships a combined and more powerful voice and ability to work together, share information and build stronger relationships with police and other third parties.
What they say
AABC Chief Executive, Mike Schuck, said: “The benefits of local partnerships have always been clear to businesses, their staff, local communities and police. But now, a national organisation actually gives them a voice – to ensure that business crime is taken seriously and given a higher priority on the Government’s agenda. We want to ensure that AABC is the voice of BRCPs and that we can build on the important work we have already done to create an effective campaign organisation. In 2003 the total cost of retail crime was £1.96 billion and the number of assaults and threats made against shop workers rose substantially. We want to significantly reduce these figures and make our communities a safer place to be.” AABC adds that it is also developing the Safer Business Award, an independently recognised accreditation scheme demonstrating individual partnerships operate legally (observing data protection law, for instance).
Membership costs £380. For more information on AABC visit their website:
