The Debenhams department store in the Arndale Centre was this year’s winner of the Manchester city centre crime prevention panel award. The Bill Lowe Memorial Award, for Business Watch Co-ordinator of the Year, was presented by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan at the opening of the 22nd annual BSIA spring seminar in Manchester.
Pictured left to right with the award are Simon Taylor, Marc Wheelan, Abdul Bachin, and John Wild of Debenhams with ACC Shewan. The event at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester city centre was formally opened by Paul King of The Shield Group, his first as chairman of the crime prevention panel; and James Kelly, BSIA chief executive.
James Kelly chaired the conference part of the morning, which heard from Det Insp Deborah Oakes and Damian Dallimore of Project Phoenix, on work against child sexual exploitation (CSE) and what security staff and anyone can do to watch out for CSE; Dave Wells of the North West regional counter-terrorism unit, on CT work; and Victoria Price of event sponsors and exhibitors SelectaDNA, on use of forensic marking products. As at previous events, the audience was of security specialists and from Manchester general businesses, who could also visit an exhibition floor of exhibiting companies, whether electronic or physical security products, or bodies such as the SIA.
The event was begun by Stuart Pizzey MBE while a GMP crime prevention man, now police and commercial risk advisor for The Shield Group, who was there on March 26 as a panel member. The seminar is put together by the BSIA with GMP, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, city council and city centre crime prevention panel.
About Project Phoenix
DI Oakes and Damian Dallimore spoke on the work between police, local government, charities and others to gain the trust of victims of CSE – who might not regard themselves as victims, and who had distrust of police and the authorities. They stressed that victims seldom can forward and it was important for people – such as taxi drivers and hotel and shopping centre staff – to be alert to those vulnerable to CSE, and to the perpetrators. More details at www.itsnotokay.co.uk/businesses/.
