Dame Diana Johnson, Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, visited Northampton on Monday (July 14) to see how police and partners are working together to make the county’s town centres safer.
Dame Diana toured Northampton town centre with Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone and Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet. They met the Neighbourhood Police Team and retailers who are working together to tackle crime, shop theft and anti-social behaviour.
Town centres are a focus of activity across the country this summer, with action to deter shop theft and anti-social behaviour as part of the Home Office Safer Streets Summer initiative.
Starting at Campbell Square police station, the Crime and Policing Minister met staff working in the newly opened public enquiry office.
Danielle and Ivan then took Dame Diana into the town centre, accompanied by Inspector Nic Davies-Lyons and officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team, to learn more about the targeted patrols and enforcement carried out by local police officers.
Danielle said: “We are focused on working closely with partners to tackle the issues that matter to people, and I’m pleased that the Minister has been able to see our partnership approach in action. It was great to be able to highlight how we are listening and then acting on local problems to prevent crime and keep people safe.”
Dame Diana visited independent store Vintage Guru in St Giles Street, where owner Julie Teckman has been taking part in a trial of rapid deployment CCTV pods as a new tool to fight retail crime.
Shop owner Julie Teckman (pictured above) said: “We believe having the pods in the shop for the pilot period has reduced opportunist crime as people started to become more aware of their existence.
“We felt they were really effective; many customers were really interested in them, and they encouraged a lot of attention and conversation about shoplifting and its impact.
“Previously, as part of attempts to deter theft, I’ve had to employ more people to have more presence in the shop. I think other businesses would benefit from looking into the pods to act as a visual deterrent to crime.”
Following the success of the trial, Danielle has funded the pods so that police can deploy them in other stores with high levels of retail crime.
In the Grosvenor Centre, Inspector Nic Davies-Lyons explained the ‘Cops Adopt a Shop’ scheme. This gives retailers contact with their own, named, officer from the Neighbourhood Policing Team, helping to build trust and a close working relationship to prevent crime and tackle problems.
‘Cops Adopt a Shop’ is a collaboration by Northampton Town Centre BID, Northamptonshire Police, West Northamptonshire Council, and the Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership.
Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet said: “Neighbourhood policing is at the heart of everything we do. I know how important it is for our Neighbourhood Teams to be visible in the community while they are working hard to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.
“Visibility has an enormous impact on how safe and confident people feel in our main towns but creating a safe environment isn’t something police can do alone. It was a pleasure to be able to show Dame Diana the strong partnerships we have built in Northampton and the impact of that work.”
