Mansfield hosts inaugural ‘Collaboration in Crime Reduction’ conference
Mansfield was the setting for the inaugural ‘Collaboration in Crime Reduction’ conference as the Police & Security Group Initiative, Revive & Thrive and Mansfield BID hosted an array of speakers highlighting great work from within crime and security organisations and Business Crime Reduction Partnerships (BCRPs) across the country.
The conference highlighted the ways in which the police and private sector could work together most effectively, whilst also providing delegates with essential strategic knowledge sharing and help on achieving the BCRP standards to keep town and city centres safe around the UK.
Speakers included Nottingham’s Police & Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping, Geoff Zeidler from the Police & Security Group Initiative, Chief Inspector Patrick Holdaway from the National Business Crime centre (NBCC), Simon Newman from the Police Digital Security Centre (PDSC) and Martin Blackwell from The BID Foundation.
Russell Downing from Revive & Thrive said: “This was a great first event, we were not sure how the conference would be received, however what has become very clear is there is a great appetite for collaboration, shared learning and desire to find more information.
“We were very pleased we could be joined by so many high-profile speakers. The feedback from the event has been very encouraging and our next step is to see if there is a requirement to role these out on a regional basis”.
Guy Collyer, Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, said: “This conference was a great foundation stone to build from. It was inspiring to be with so many delegates with a common goal of delivering safe and secure places for people to live, work and play in.”
BCRPs are subscription-based, business-led, non-profit making action groups, often associated with Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), working with Police Forces and Local Authorities to gather intelligence and share information to tackle crime and disorder affecting businesses from multi-chain retailers and small independent shops through to pubs, restaurants and nightclubs. There are approximately 400 BCRPs operating in the UK, seeking to make their local communities safer places to live, work and visit.
Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PCPI) accredits BCRPs on a set of standards owned by the NBCC. The standards have been created by a group of industry professionals, led by Martin Blackwell, former Chief Executive Officer, of the Association of Town and City Management and including representatives from the NBCC, and leading staff from the BCRP sector and business.
Accreditation is designed to enhance the level of partnership working nationally and encourage continued, significant, national business investment in BCRPs. In addition, the intention is that it will provide reassurance to Police Forces that data shared with BCRP partner organisations will be utilised in a responsible manner to reduce criminal activity. BCRPs are required to demonstrate good practice and professionalism by ensuring they are functioning in an ethical manner and within the law. The criteria cover membership agreements, data security and compliance with current legislation.
Revive & Thrive and the National Association of Business Crime Partnerships are the two assessing organisations working with the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) that have been authorised to carry out assessments leading to accreditation for BCRPs.
Revive & Thrive specialises in sharing best management practice, working in town and city centres and high streets, and most recently, industrial estates and shopping centres. Its work includes Business Improvement Districts, Town Centre Partnerships, Town Teams and now BCRPs.