Lambeth Crime Prevention Panel

Lambeth Business Against Crime

Lambeth Business Against Crime (LBAC)

LBAC has been established as a Business Crime Reduction Partnership with funding from Lambeth Council and Lambeth Borough Police.

WHAT IS LBAC?
Lambeth Business Against Crime is a dedicated, formal and pro-active partnership between the business community, Police, CDRP, Lambeth Borough Council, Town Centre Management, CCTV and other agencies and organisations in Lambeth and Operates within strict protocols agreed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Office of the Information Commissioner.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO JOIN?
LBAC is a ‘not for profit’ organisation. There will be a basic Membership fee plus the additional cost of the radio(s) (if required). Costs will kept to a minimum and will represent outstanding value and cost effectiveness compared with the benefits to business. Membership fees will be set each year by businesses.

OVERVIEW
Over 250 city, town and shopping centres have established business crime reduction partnerships as part of their local community safety strategy under the Crime and Disorder Act.
Well-structured partnerships working within the strict operating standards and protocols set out in the Home Office guide “Community Crime Reduction Partnerships – the Retail Contribution”, can deliver up to 30% reduction in town centre crime.
•BCRPs are membership organisations of businesses in towns and cities who join together to collate information on active known or suspected criminals, to share that information and monitor their behaviour through radio, CCTV, photographs, newsletters and other means and to exclude criminals from their business premises.
•They work with police, local authorities, CDRPs and other agencies to reduce crime. Managing out crime is the common goal.

SUPPORT AND PARTNER AGENCIES
LBAC as a member of Action Against Business Crime (AABC) and the London Business Crime Group has the support of:
•Home Office and Government Office for London
•Lambeth Borough Council
•Lambeth Borough Police
•Safer Lambeth Partnership
•Lambeth Crime Prevention Panel
•Action Against Business Crime
•British Retail Consortium
•Association of Town Centre Management
•British Chambers of Commerce

ITS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!
1. Tried and tested national model developed by Action Against Business Crime – supported by bthe Home Office and the British Retail Consortium.
2. Lambeth Crime Prevention Panel and AABC have taken best practice from around the UK and London boroughs to set up a BCRP for Lambeth.
And, LBAC is part of the national partnership with the Home Office.

SCALE OF THE PROBLEM
During 2004, according to the British Retail Crime Survey 2005, crime in the UK is estimated to cost the retail sector £1.42 billion.
Retailers spent £710 million on crime prevention and security measures making the total cost of crime for the period £2.13 billion. The main areas of loss are:
Customer Theft £665m (45%)
Employee Dishonesty £282m (33%)
Fraud £70.6m (4.7%)

This compares with:
Burglary £49m (3.8%)
Criminal Damage £19m (1.4%)
Robbery £6.64 (0.8%)

A major concern is the sharp increase in the cost of crime as a % of turnover and
Customer theft has risen 44% since 2003.
Assaults on staff also show a significant upward trend
The Commercial Victimisation Survey found that “one in five retailers (20%)
experienced threats, assault and/or intimidation in 2002, compared with 17 per cent in 1993”.
In the last four years incidents of violence against staff have risen by 100%
More than half the owners of small and medium-sized enterprises have been victims of crime at least once in the past year, according to a study by the Federation of Small Businesses (FT, p.4 March 23 2006).

Police and other agencies are beginning to understand the complex nature of Business crime, the cross-offending of many criminals into other areas such as drugs and burglary and the opportunities it presents them to achieve significant crime reduction.

LBAC OBJECTIVES
LBAC – will harmonise with police, local authority and other agencies to ensure that business crime objectives are seen as a central part of crime reduction strategy.
LBAC will be a member of AABC with access to key contacts in Government.
LBAC as Lambeth’s BCRP will deliver a strong voice for the business community in Lambeth.
LBAC – By Business for Business. Community Led, Community Benefits

LBAC WILL
•Reduce crime/fear of crime
•Reduce violence
•Develop and encourage partnership working
•Be cost effective
•Be linked to local and regional community safety strategy

LBAC PARTNERSHIP STRUCTURE
Steering Committee
Board of Management
Paid full time crime manager (plus additional support)
Secure office accommodation
Offender target files
Photograph sharing
IT facility to manage data
Partnership documentation
Exclusion notice scheme
Radio link scheme

THREE KEY AGREED CORE PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES
•Information and photograph sharing
•Radio link scheme
•Exclusion notice scheme

The main thrust of the Scheme is to prevent and deter crime from happening in the first place and not on arresting and prosecution.
Good information is used to target persistent offenders. Partnerships hold details of sightings, intelligence, incidents and other information and complement existing police intelligence systems. Partnership crime reduction allows the retailers and businesses, police, local authorities, voluntary sector and other concerned partners to work closely together to reduce opportunities for a wide range of town centre crime and to promote the concept of safe and secure town centres.
Business Information Crime System (BICS) is the IT software at the centre of the information sharing system.
Without effective and continual communication no community can exist or sustain itself.
“The absence of an effective means of communication adversely affects the ability of the police and communities to reduce crime.” Home Office (PRG Report 1995)
THE LONDON PICTURE
•Nationally – BCRPs
•12 in London
•12 working towards SBA (Safer Business Award)
•16 crime managers
•15 NBIS/BICS databases
•London Business Crime Partnership
BENEFITS - POLICE, BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY
•Reduces business and other crime and anti-social behaviour
•Reduces violence against staff
•Practical and successful – concentrates on key problems
•Based on intelligence-led strategies
•Aims to prevent crime - reducing opportunity
•Assists in identifying travelling criminals
•Provides information not currently available
•Low cost
DO PARTNERSHIPS WORK?
Despite a national increase of 44% Liverpool’s BCRP has reduced shop theft year on year in the same period.
Statistics from Cambridgeshire Constabulary - Theft from a shop:
•March – April 2003/4 – 218
•March – April 2004/5 – 157 reduction 27%
•April – September 2004 – 93
•October – March – 64
•CCTV – 2004 74 arrests, 62 generated by businesses

A SAFER LAMBETH WILL BE GOOD FOR BUSINESS AND GOOD FOR ALL

LBAC seeking the SBA Award for Lambeth. Lambeth has begun the process of seeking the National SAFER BUSINESS AWARD first awarded to the City of Wolverhampton. Together with our partners we want to make Lambeth a safe place to visit, life and enjoy.

9 March 2006 - Lambeth Town Hall - Business Watch Meeting

March 9, 2006
12 am
Lambeth Town Hall
BusinessWatch
presentation by
DAVID LEIGH (Regional Director, Action Against Business Crime)

The Home Office and British Retail Consortium national anti-crime initiative is about to be rolled out in Lambeth.

To find out more about how local businesses work together to cut crime and create safer shopping for all join Lambeth Crime Prevention
Panel, Lambeth Borough Police, Action Against Business Crime and business leaders at Lambeth Town Hall on March 9th, 2006.

Lambeth is about to get safer. Will you do your part?
Safer Shopping and excellent working relations with police and other agencies builds a secure and safe business future.

Lambeth Business Against Crime

Lambeth Business Crime Group
Action Against Business Crime

L-BAC
LAMBETH BUSINESS
AGAINST CRIME

Lambeth Business Against Crime

Think safe. Be safe. Business Safe.

Business Crime in Lambeth

Why is it important to manage business crime better in Lambeth?

Nationally it is a massive problem.

· It is estimated that business crime costs £20 billion a year
· Crime against businesses cost on average more than crime against individuals
· The direct and indirect costs of retail crime are said to cost £2.5 billon, which is probably a conservative estimate
· Around 25% of all recorded crime takes place in and around town centres

Business depends on the community and the community depends on business. Not managed well, crime will threaten the trading environment, will impact on profitability, shops may close with less choice for customers and businesses and their customers will go elsewhere. That’s bad for investment and employment and will almost certainly result in a downward cycle of degeneration, and an increase in crime and the fear of crime.

The effects of business crime also include the human costs of physical and verbal abuse against staff that impacts on morale and confidence that can lead to increased absenteeism and difficulties recruiting. Crime diverts management time from his or her key responsibilities and is stressful for everyone.

In summary, crime and the fear of crime have such a negative effect on the quality and use of our town centres. This is why Lambeth Business Crime Group and Action Against Business Crime, together with the police and other agencies are taking action across the borough to ensure businesses remain competitive, safe and secure.

Lambeth Business Against Crime
(L-BAC)

What is L-BAC?

L-BAC is a dedicated, formal and pro-active partnership between businesses, the police, Lambeth Council, CCTV, other crime deduction schemes and other agencies and organisations.

· L-BAC has a Business Crime Reduction manager supported by Lambeth Business Crime Group (L-BCG) and Action Against Business Crime (AABC) and a board of management.
· The police provide photographs of the most prolific, current and active individuals involved in crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour that affects business
· Members submit incident reports to the Crime Reduction Manager for entry onto the Business Information Crime System (BICS) database to enable information to be collated, shared and disseminated for members
· The database is a powerful additional tool providing information previously unavailable
· The partnership operates within strict protocols agreed by the Home Office, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Office of the Information Commissioner and is based on the successful national model developed by Action Against Business Crime (AABC) and already adopted in half of London’s boroughs
· The partnership operates and manages an Exclusion Notice scheme barring persistent offenders and troublemakers from all members premises for 12 months
· The key to the scheme’s success is for business to work smarter by working together as partners more effectively

Information Sharing

The success of this scheme focuses on improving communication between businesses, the police, street management and other key organisations.

· The Crime Reduction Manager’s computerised package, called the Business Information Crime System (BICS) is used to identify and target those persistent offenders and troublemakers who commit the majority of crime. 17% of criminals commit 80% of all recorded crime
· BICS holds details of incidents, sightings and other intelligence and compliments existing police systems, which tend to focus on arrests and convictions
· The Crime Reduction Manager collects, analyses and disseminates information about the most active offenders. Police photographs help members to identify these individuals and disrupt their activity
· The information collated helps drive the Exclusion Notice scheme
· A dual frequency (day-time and night-time) Radiolink is available for members using effective technology that works

Safer Shopping Award

The Safer Shopping Award is an accreditation scheme available to local business crime reduction partnerships and recognises good practice through a partnership approach. Successful partnerships must meet national operational standards.

Many business crime reduction partnerships have already achieved the Safer Shopping Award accreditation and we are determined to bring this award to Lambeth. Gaining the award will bring positive publicity to the borough and reassure all those who live, work and socialise in Lambeth.

How much does it cost to join?

L-BAC is non-profit making. Lambeth Crime Prevention Panel is a registered charity. There will be a membership fee but the costs will be kept to a minimum and will represent outstanding value and cost effectiveness compared with the benefits for business. Membership fees are set each year by business members of the scheme. Full details are available from the Crime Reduction Manager or the secretary of Lambeth Business Crime Group.

Supporters

The scheme is supported by Lambeth Drug and Alcohol Action Team / Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (DAAT/CDRP), Lambeth Council, Lambeth Borough Police, the Home Office, Lambeth Crime Prevention Panel, Action Against Business Crime (AABC), the Home Office and other agencies.

Summary of Benefits

The aim of the Partnership is to reduce business crime in the Borough and make the trading environment safer for customers, visitors, staff and residents.

L-BAC will:
· Reduce crime in and around the business environment
· Be based on tried and tested methods
· Be cost effective
· Give business the ability to influence local crime reduction policy
· Be an integral part of Lambeth’s crime reduction strategy

L-BAC will:
· Collate, share and disseminate information more effectively using IT
· Provide photographs of persistent offenders and the methods they use
· Produce newsletters and updates
· Reduce and prevent criminality and anti-social behaviour
· Assist in the apprehension and prosecution of offenders
· Manage an enhanced radio link scheme
· Manage the Exclusion Notice scheme for members
· Decrease the fear of crime
· Offer training and best proactive advice
· Encourage growth and inward investment in the borough

JOINING THE SCHEME

Please contact the Business Crime Reduction Manager for an information pack or any further information as follows:
Business Crime Reduction Manager
Lambeth Against Business Crime
c/o The Beat
411, Coldharbour Lane
London, SW9 8LQ

Telephone: 07818083388
E-mail: lbac@lambethcrimeprevention.com