Commissioner outlines robust action to protect businesses from crime

Angelique Foster, Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner, has addressed retailers and business partners regarding the improvements she has made to help protect them from crime.

The Commissioner was one of the key speakers at the Derbyshire Business Crime Reduction Partnership Safer Business Action Day.  The event drew together retailers and business representatives from across Derby City to look at the innovative work underway to tackle business crime and deliver a stronger policing response to shoplifting. 

Since her election, the Commissioner has invested £60k over two years into the Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) – an organisation bringing together businesses, the police and other key organisations to help protect the economic wellbeing of the high street from ASB and criminality.

The Commissioner’s funding helps maintain a BCRP Coordinator post in Derby City. 

Members also benefit from a dedicated app that enables them to view galleries to identify suspects, read and submit crime and intelligence/incident reports and CCTV evidence in real time, reducing the need for officers to attend and reducing demand on the non-emergency service 101. 

The Commissioner has also supported the launch of a new Crime Management Policy which confirms the force’s longstanding commitment to investigate all crimes where there are reasonable lines of inquiry - regardless of the value. 

Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster said: “Businesses are a vital part of our communities, boosting employment opportunities and supporting our economy. When they become victims of crime, these losses impact all of us, threatening jobs, pushing up prices and forcing businesses to move away. 

“I have worked hard to build relationships with businesses across Derbyshire and Derby City to understand the problems they face. These efforts have been enhanced through the BCRP which supports my wider work to prevent crime, reduce the risk of criminality and give businesses and retailers the support they need to protect their livelihoods.

“While I am pleased with the increased enforcement and partnership work underway, there is always more to do.  The force had already committed to investigating all thefts where there are reasonable lines of enquiry with no minimum value restrictions. My Police and Crime Plan also makes clear my expectations for all victims of crime, regardless of the type, to be offered an appropriate and high-quality response from the force. This is an area I will closely monitor through my scrutiny of the force to ensure retailers and businesses are receiving the support and high standard of service they deserve.”

As part of an ongoing drive to tackle neighbourhood crime, the Commissioner has supported a Ministry of Justice pilot monitoring criminals for 24 hours a day – for up to 12 months – on release from prison. 

The force is one of 13 in England and Wales to go live with the scheme, which sees burglars, robbers and thieves fitted with GPS trackers to cut reoffending. 

During her presentation, the Commissioner also shared the success of the Safe Space scheme in Derby City to tackle homelessness. The service, delivered in partnership with the Commissioner’s office, Public Health England, Derby Homes and East Midlands Ambulance Service, provides entrenched rough sleepers with a ‘safe space’ to receive help and support in the day and to be temporarily accommodated overnight. 

The scheme not only reduces the immediate risk of harm to these individuals, but also reduces the demand on police officers’ time, who can get straight back out on patrol once they have dealt with a particular individual.”

Since her election, the Commissioner has contributed £100k to the project which is estimated to have yielded a saving to the criminal justice system of at least £805k. It has also led to significant drops in ASB dispersals in Derby City Centre (-93%) and arrests (-61%) in a two-year period while reducing rough sleeping by 77%.