The Town Centre policing team carried out a series of focused activities in support of businesses particularly affected by retail crime. This included early-morning, plain-clothed operations on George Street, monitoring coffee shops such as Pret A Manger, Caffè Nero, and Costa Coffee who have experienced persistent shoplifting at these hours, as well activities focused on the prevention of violence against women and girls.
A dedicated partnership day saw 16 town centre police officers working alongside the Croydon BID Street Rangers and retail security teams – supporting one another via the Croydon BID Radio Link. Working to prevent and respond to shoplifting offences, the operation resulted in 3 arrests and 9 stop and searches, alongside two completed weapons sweeps.
The Street Ranger team played an active role in supporting businesses across the fortnight, attending and intervening in 42 individual incidents.
A notable intervention occurred in Next Outlet, where the Rangers assisted with the detention of a known offender. The value of goods recovered totalled £229, and the offender was subsequently arrested.
Alongside responsive action, the Rangers visited over 40 businesses from the Croydon Business Crime Reduction Partnership (CBCP), helping members make the most of the CBCP app. The mobile app provides immediate access for intelligence sharing and reporting incidents.
On Tuesday 14th July, a Safety Awareness Fair was held on North End, bringing together members of the Town Centre Taskforce to raise awareness of support services available to residents. Attending organisations included the Family Justice Centre, Age UK, Change Grow Live, the Fairfield Safer Neighbourhoods Team, P4YE, and Barclays Bank, presenting its Fraud and Scam Roadshow.
The fair offered residents the opportunity to engage directly with support providers, access information, and learn about the services available within the community.
Finally, as part of the initiative, Croydon BID offered its members two free women’s self-defence and personal safety workshops. The sessions supported participants in building real word anticipation and awareness whilst introducing effective and accessible practical techniques.
Overall, through enforcement, partnership work, focused business support and community engagement, the Summer Safety Fortnight reaffirmed the commitment of Croydon BID, the Metropolitan Police and local partners to improve the feeling of safety for all those that live, work and visit the town centre.
To learn more about Croydon BID’s safety-focused initiatives, please visit: https://croydonbid.com/business/resolve/
