VTR0036

Written evidence submitted by the National Association of Business Crime Partnerships (VTR0036)

What is a Business Crime Reduction Partnership?

1. A Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) is a partnership-based approach to preventing crime and disorder. The partnership, at its simplest, is an intelligence gathering and information sharing system that enables the effective prevention of crime and disorder.
2. They are a not-for-profit crime reduction partnerships that have already helped hundreds of businesses across the UK to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. Through the BCRP, businesses have been able to work more effectively with police and the local authority to create a safe and stable business environment.

Background

3. Shop Watch and Pub Watch schemes are known and understood by most people but a BCRP is much more.
4. In 1995 the Chief Constable of Derbyshire was challenged at Court (Hellewell v Chief Constable of Derbyshire) for allowing images of persistent offenders to be circulated amongst local businesses to reduce crime and disorder in their area. The result was the creation of Business Crime Partnerships. The Judge agreed that it was permissible for images of excluded offenders to be circulated under certain conditions.
5. BCRP’s developed over the years and have had many titles, Crime Initiatives, Partnerships Against Crime but whatever they are called the principles are the same to make our Towns and Cities Safer by:

• Collating intelligence on known trouble-makers.
• Excluding from private premises on a banned from one banned from all basis.
• Working with local police to enforce those exclusion and prevent further offences.
• Assist with the rehabilitation of offenders.
• Deliver local crime reduction initiatives

6. External funding enabled the expansion of BCRP’s across the UK initially through the creation of Action Against Business Crime (AABC). Over the years these BCRP’s have become self-funded through member contributions and the introduction of a local two-way radio scheme to alert members of activity.
7. AABC has now become the National Association of Business Crime Partnerships as the national organisation to represent BCRP’s and currently represents 126 BCRP’s across the UK reaching out to over 20,000 retailers.
8. Initially we saw the introduction of the Safer Business Award and other organisations developed similar models. In 2015 a Working Group was brought together to create one national standard for BCRP’s to ensure consistency, a return on investment for businesses and that data shared by the police and between businesses was secure.
9. The new National Business Crime Partnerships standards were introduced in 2018, they are owned by the National Business Crime Centre and governed by the Police Crime Prevention Initiative – Secure By Design.
10. The standards are in 5 parts:

1. Overview and Governance
2. Partnership, Benefits aims and objectives
3. Communications
4. Systems and procedures 
5. Data Integrity

11. The standards are assessed by skilled assessors through an Assessing Organisation such as NABCP and they ensure that businesses receive a return on their investment and that police and businesses data is secure and GDPR compliant.
12. With the introduction of Business Improvement Districts, BCRP’s were taken to another level. With the BID core objectives of Clean, Safe, and Promote some BCRP’s were integrated into the BID structure managing the secure element.
13. The BCRP generally manages the crime reduction activity within towns and cities and on some industrial estates. With the reduction of police resources many crimes and incidents do not get investigated where the offence is not in progress or there is no known offender. By sharing the data on low level offences with the BCRP action can be taken. Co-ordinating the efforts of local businesses, security guards, Council Wardens, BID Ambassadors in conjunction with the police. They will use tried and tested problem - solving models to reduce and prevent crime and anti-social behaviour. Invariably every BCRP will have its own database capturing incidents, analysing and pro-actively coordinating resources into the hot spot locations, preventing and detecting crime and ant-social behaviour.
14. The BCRP can also help with restorative justice and Community Remedies educating the offenders in the impact of their offending and preventing further offending.
15. The BCRP will work very closely with the Community Safety Partnerships that were introduced with the Crime and Disorder Act and their work integrated into the local Community Safety Partnership strategies.
16. A strong local partnership will be the heart of our towns and cities.

May 2021