Local business partnership forms in Dorset to quash retail crime

Local businesses in Dorset have united with police and the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council to tackle antisocial behaviour and retail crime, with information sharing and better incident recording that aims to empower more targeted action. 

The new conurbation-wide ‘Against Business Crime’ partnership will be led by three of the area’s Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), with the support of Dorset Police, David Sidwick, Dorset police and crime commissioner, and the BCP Council – all being stakeholders in The Business Crime Reduction Partnership.

The Business Crime Reduction Partnership promises to be a “game-changer” in tackling rising levels of theft, verbal and physical abuse and anti-social behaviour – all key issues impacting local businesses, which are going significantly underreported due to frustration with a perceived lack of response.

All BID member businesses, and other businesses who wish to sign up to the scheme, will have access to a cloud-based crime reporting platform where incidents and potential threats can be logged, alerting members with timely updates on local crime trends and emerging issues.

The accurate and real-time data gathered in this system will be collated by UK Partners Against Crime (UK-PAC) incident reporting and management platform, before being translated into useful metrics, including temperature maps – revealing hotspots and high-risk times of day – and insights into the patterns of repeat offenders.

This data will give the police, council and other stakeholders an incisive new tool in their armoury to help them target and tackle crime and anti-social behaviour more effectively.

David Sidwick, Dorset police and crime commissioner, said: “I am delighted that the grants issued through my Business Crime Community Fund have assisted towards the establishment of the Business Crime Reduction Partnership in BCP.

“Business crime is not a victimless offence, and since I came to office, I have heard from business owners how serious and damaging incidents of shoplifting can be, especially when staff are abused or attacked.”

He added: “It is only by working together and sharing intelligence that we can truly tackle the crimes our business communities across Dorset face. Shoplifters prey on our communities and by working together we will bring more of them to justice and make our shops and streets safer.”