Throughout the fortnight, Croydon BID will coordinate a packed programme of activity including police operations targeting retail crime, business engagement patrols, free safety training sessions, public awareness campaigns and community-led events.
Activity scheduled for Safer Summer Fortnight 2026 includes:
- Croydon Town Centre Summer Safety Summit: An in-depth event at LSBU for local businesses, featuring presentations and a Q&A panel discussion with MP Sarah Jones, Minister for Policing & Crime, and Supt Luke Dillon. It will explore wider efforts to reduce crime, including initiatives such as LFR and recent legislative changes, including the new standalone offence for assault against retail workers introduced under the Crime and Policing Act.
- Retail Crime Action Day: Led by the Town Centre Policing Team with support from local agencies and retailers, this dedicated day of action will focus on tackling prolific retail offenders through intelligence gathering, enforcement activity and proactive business engagement.
- Met Officer Business Patrols: BID-funded police engagement patrols will see officers visiting around 50 businesses across the town centre to listen to concerns, gather intelligence and support crime reporting. Officers will also carry out joint patrols alongside Croydon BID Street Rangers, including targeted hotspot patrols and weapons sweeps where required.
- Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Focus Activity: Dedicated town centre deployments will take place to engage directly with venues and businesses around VAWG awareness, reporting pathways and the proactive measures being taken across Croydon to improve safety and support victims.
- Women’s Self-Defence & Personal Safety Workshop: These free women-only sessions delivered by Good Sense Training will equip participants with practical self-defence techniques, situational awareness skills and personal safety guidance in a supportive environment.
- Conflict Management & Personal Safety Workshop: Delivered by SWL Security, this free training session will help customer-facing staff better understand conflict, recognise warning signs, improve de-escalation techniques and enhance personal safety in the workplace.
- Met Police Cycle Marking Session: Hosted by Fairfield Safer Neighbourhood Team, this public-facing event at Ruskin Square will offer bike security marking, theft prevention advice and free registration on the BikeRegister database to help deter cycle theft and support recovery of stolen bikes.
- CBCP & Radio Link Membership Drive: Throughout the fortnight, Croydon BID Street Rangers will visit businesses across the town centre to provide refresher training, support businesses with accessing the CBCP reporting platform and encourage new businesses to join the scheme and trial the Radio Link network.
- Safety Fair & VAWG Awareness Event: A multi-agency public safety event will take place on Tuesday 14th July in North End, bringing together partners including Barclays Bank, Croydon Neighbourhood Watch, and the Town Centre Police Team to engage with the public on a range of crime prevention and personal safety topics.
Croydon has a strong track record of collaborative working to deliver shared objectives, with partnership at the heart of efforts to create a safer environment for all. Croydon BID’s Safer Summer Fortnight reflects this collective approach, bringing together partners across the town to respond to a range of complex and evolving challenges. Working alongside the Metropolitan Police, the campaign also highlights the ongoing initiatives delivered by Croydon BID in support of our business community, including our Street Rangers, the Croydon BID Radio Link, the Croydon Business Crime Reduction Partnership (CBCP) and our BID-funded training opportunities, all of which are free for local businesses and their staff. By uniting businesses, police, charities, and local partners, we can deliver visible action, practical support and meaningful engagement, as we continue working towards a safer and more welcoming town centre for everyone.
Matthew Sims, Chief Executive, Croydon BID
For more information about Safer Summer Fortnight, including how to sign up to training sessions and events taking place across the two-week campaign, please email shaun.webster@croydonbid.com. Follow Croydon BID on LinkedIn to stay up to date with the latest campaign activity and town centre safety initiatives.
