What do food banks have to do with retail loss prevention? Andy Sharman can tell you, in the Somerset county town of Taunton.
Andy, pictured, is a former loss prevention man who’s now the co-ordinator of Somerset West Businesses Against Crime (SWBAC). He was among the speakers at the Partnerships Against Crime event at the London Hippodrome on Wednesday, October 23. Speaking to Professional Security at the event, he described how the idea arose when some names of retail offenders came across his SWBAC desk that he did not recognise: “They were stealing out of necessity, literally stealing food, but feeding their kids. I was conscious of the fact that more needs to be done, to address this. I did a little bit of research and came across the Tressell Trust food banks. That led to working closely with various organisations, particularly from local churches. We officially opened Taunton Food Bank in July 2012; we opened Bridgwater in July 2013. Since then we have seen 2500 people receive the emergency food; which has coincided with quite a significant reduction in theft in the town centre. Obviously, we cannot say that it is all because of the food bank, because it would be a disservice to the good work that our organisations and our police partners are putting in. But, if you look at 2500 people getting emergency food, that might not necessarily have had that lifeline, it is a fairly safe assumption that some would have had to turn to crime.”
Asked about this side of his work, as a Somerset man (and for example a proud Somerset county cricket supporter), he said: “It’s sad, but it’s needed. As a Somerset boy you do the best you can. We want to see Somerset thrive and succeed.” And it’s brought SWBAC into contact with new groups that it would not have otherwise. Food is donated, whether from businesses or other businesses, or schools after their harvest festival work. Volunteers co-ordinate the foodstuffs at a warehouse; and such groups in the field as Citizens Advice, social workers and health visitors identify those in need and refer them to the food bank, with vouchers.
Andy stressed that business crime partnership, for him, has never merely been about handing out retail radios and photographs of known offenders to members. SWBAC plans to offer courses in online safety for older people; and to offer start-up funds for young offenders who have entrepreneurial ideas to turn their lives in a new direction.
About Andy Sharman
He became co-ordinator of SWBAC in October 2008 and in June 2011 oversaw the merger between the Taunton business crime partnership and nearby Bridgwater and Burnham’s. He is the chairperson for Avon and Somerset business crime reduction group, and sits on the Association of Business Crime Partnerships (ABCP) council and, at district council level, on the Taunton Deane Domestic Abuse Forum.
One side point, true of many partnerships, is that even quite small parts of the country have different economies and retail and business crime issues. While much of Somerset may look picture-postcard pretty, that may hide joblessness or seasonal peaks and troughs in the local economy, because parts have an influx of visitors in the summer, which can also cause crime and disorder.
