Wiltshire and Swindon’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson, has reasserted his commitment to tackling business crime by lending his support to Safer Business Action Week.

Whilst Safer Business Action week is coordinated nationally, it is very much focussed on local crime and anti-social behaviour issues impacting retail and other businesses in the community.

Throughout the week, officers from Neighbourhood Policing Teams have visited businesses across Wiltshire and Swindon to speak to them about their experiences of crime. In Salisbury, officers joined Anti-Social Behaviour Wardens, which are funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, and local security guards for a series of high visibility patrols in the city centre, where known shoplifters were targeted.

Retail crime and public safety in town and city centres in Wiltshire and Swindon was an area highlighted by residents, with input from Wiltshire Police and partner agencies working within the criminal justice system, as one of the main criminal threats they wanted to be dealt with.

Now, the Police and Crime Commissioner has placed a renewed focus on retail crime in the first draft of his Police and Crime Plan for 2025-2029.

Mr Wilkinson said:

“I have spoken to shop managers and small to medium business owners, who have made it clear to me that they want to something done about the criminals who are having a profound effect on their ability to survive in the current financial climate.

“It is also clear that people who work in retail should feel they can go into work without the fear of being assaulted or abused.

“I’m aware of situations in Wiltshire where this has happened, and I want anyone who works in the retail industry to know that my team is working with Wiltshire Police and our partners to make your working environment safer, and to make you feel safer.”

As a result of his “Use Your Voice” survey over the summer, the Police and Crime Commissioner has highlighted retail crime as one of the areas that matter most to people in Wiltshire and Swindon and has made it one of two new focal points of his draft Police and Crime Plan, alongside rural crime.

Already, funding has been provided for upgraded CCTV cameras in Chippenham and Swindon and four deployable CCTV units in Salisbury. As well as anti-social behaviour wardens in Salisbury, funding was also provided to Swindon Borough Council to employ anti-social behaviour wardens in the town centre and in areas where anti-social behaviour has been identified as a particular issue.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner is working with town centres and retailers to coordinate efforts to increase security and support economic development in our town centres, as well as developing Business Crime Reduction Partnerships to tackle increases in shoplifting and crimes against retail workers.

Published Friday 18 October 2024