Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable have spent time visiting business owners in Northampton town centre to discuss how they can work together to reduce retail crime.
The visit occurred just a few hours after the King’s Speech on Wednesday (July 17), where the new Government announced plans to make assaulting shopworkers a standalone offence as well as introducing stronger measures to tackle low-level shoplifting.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone was accompanied by Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet in a walk around the town centre to listen to retailers’ experiences. They were joined by Mark Mullen from Northampton BID, and discussed what actions retail owners would like to see from Northamptonshire Police.
Commissioner Danielle Stone has made it clear that both her and deputy Commissioner Marianne Kimani will be engaging with communities much more widely, and that the voices of local people and businesses will help inform future strategies on how to tackle the issues that affect neighbourhoods and businesses.
Danielle said: “When I was elected in May, I made a promise that I would be visible and accessible, and that work has already started.
“I’m pleased to have been out with the Chief Constable talking to retailers in Northampton town centre, and finding out from them what the issues are. It’s clear from the conversations we’ve had that retailers are particularly vulnerable to theft and abuse and that’s totally unacceptable.
“I want to call regular meetings with retailers. We must be in touch with the people that are most affected as they will be able to help us with the solutions that we need to act against retail crime, and working with our partners that’s exactly what we intend to do.”
During the visit, Danielle and Ivan met with a town centre newsagent owner who detailed how he had been assaulted more than five times in the last three years, and who had seen increasing numbers of shoplifting. And the owner of a menswear store detailed how some people didn’t feel safe due to drug use and anti-social behaviour happening near his store.
Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet said the discussions were an opportunity to consider how the situation can be improved for everyone who works in and visits the town centre.
He said: “It’s clear that retailers really want to work with the Police, but I know there is a long way to go to rebuild trust and confidence.
“We have got some really dedicated PCSOs, staff and police officers who work tirelessly to tackle crime in the town centre, but we might need to look at how many officers we have on patrol, because visibility is clearly important to retailers in helping to make them feel safe.
“Retail owners also mentioned anti-social behaviour, drugs and alcohol issues. We need to engage with stakeholders locally to make sure we can respond to calls for attendance in a prompt and meaningful way.”
The Commissioner and Chief Constable also met with senior staff at the Mercure Hotel and Grosvenor shopping centre to discuss partner working to improve safety in the town centre.
Mark Mullen, Operations Manager at Northampton BID, added: “It’s been really encouraging to have the Commissioner and the Chief Constable meet with a wide range of business owners, and to discuss in more detail the shared drive we all have to make Northampton a safer place ahead of the exciting developments that are happening in the future.
“Retail crime has gone up nationally and Northampton is no different, but it was good for the retailers to have those discussions with Danielle and Ivan, and have confidence that they are taking it seriously and want to take action to alleviate some of those problems.”
