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PCC's approach to business crime

Priority:

This approach supports the Police and Crime Commissioner’s and Chief Constable’s shared vision for ‘Safe, Resilient and Connected Communities’, connecting communities and policing together, in order to deliver our local policing promise to ensure that policing is Accessible, Responsive, Informative and Supportive.

What we said:

The PCC has pledged to ensure the business community receives information and support from the police to assist them to protect their businesses from becoming victims of crime.

When crime does occur it is important that reporting methods are straightforward and victims are regularly updated.

The PCC would set out a range of activities that would help the businesses ensure they can protect themselves, assist the police and support community safety initiatives.

What we did:

The OPCC has consulted widely with the business community both through engagement events and attending Chambers of Commerce and other business forums. This has provided valuable information which has informed the development of the PCC Approach to Business Crime.

The PCC’s Approach to Business Crime was published in the summer of 2019 and set out in broad terms a number of key areas that the OPCC would focus upon to engage businesses in supporting community safety in our communities.

The approach outlined five areas of focus for the future including:-

  1. Building a better understanding of the crime and community safety issues affecting businesses
  2. Improving the support and assistance we provide to victims of business crime
  3. Increasing the opportunities for businesses to support wider community safety initiatives
  4. Providing clear opportunities for businesses to work with the police and partners to help prevent and reduce business crime
  5. Maximise the use of national resources to help tackle business crime locally and influence national policy to support action to tackle business crime.

Each of the above has several actives that will provide practical assistance to businesses. This includes anti-social behaviour, the provision of seed funding to help establish business crime reduction partnerships, convening regular meetings with the PCC and senior police leaders so they are aware of the crime and ASB issues affecting the business community and providing opportunities for the business sector to help prevent reoffending by offering work opportunities for ex offenders.

This work complements the otherareas of PCC programmes such as the CCTV strategy, funding to Safer Towns and investment in additional police officers all of which also help the business community.

Achieved outcomes:

The inaugural Business Leaders meeting was held in June 2019. This agreed several new actions including the preparation of a visual guide to demonstrate to busy businesses whey it is important to report crime and intelligence and what happens to that information once submitted to the police.

The PCC has also worked with the South West Business Centre to produce a guide for businesses that signposts the variety of community safety options available, plus how to go about establishing a business crime reduction partnership.

Next steps:

We will continue to work with the South West Business Centre to establish more business crime reduction partnerships across Devon and Cornwall.

The PCC is also looking to support the Citizens in Policing programme by encouraging the business bosses to provide paid time off for their staff to volunteer for the police for example as a Special Constable.

Key documents: