As we enter 2019, the UK high street experienced a mixture of ups and downs over the Christmas period as major retailers post their festive sales figures but continue to report wide-spread shoplifting incidents.
With a turbulent year ahead and Brexit around the corner, Business Crime Reduction Partnerships (BRCPs) and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), will continue to be called upon to assist retailers in navigating their way through managing low-level crime incidents and reporting stock loss offences through shoplifting instances.
Retailers from across Yorkshire and the North East of England can rest assured that their local crime partnerships are doing everything in their power by providing retail crime prevention information, resources and support through SentrySIS.
SentrySIS is a cloud-based software solution that allows Crime Partnerships and Business Improvement Districts to securely share crime data with retailers at a click of a button. The information within the system puts retailers one step ahead of any criminal thinking of committing shoplifting and anti-social behaviour acts.
The platform offers retailers real-time crime data through notifications and incidents that have occurred in their area. In addition to this, they can browse through region-wide vehicles and offenders databases that detail crime information committed by over 4000 profiles and vehicles.
Sean Walker, Crime Manager for Business Against Crime in Leeds (BACIL) commented on how SentrySIS is being used in Leeds City Centre and said, “There are not the number of police officers on the streets anymore, so we need to do it ourselves. And the way to do this is by having live valid information, using a website to work with the radio system and to keep people informed…SentrySIS does that. You get a whole crime prevention system that will assist you and your business to keep crime completely out of your premises.”
Retailers in York who are members of their local crime partnership scheme have been using SentrySIS for half a decade. The system has helped retailers share crime information much more easily and securely than ever before.
Colin Moreton, Crime Manager at York Businesses Against Crime (YBAC), shared his thoughts on SentrySIS and said, “SentrySIS provides a professional, user friendly, affordable and extremely effective means of managing key functions within our Business Crime Partnership, this including local & regional offender database, a secure real-time messaging tool, the management of incidents and notifications, excluded persons, member briefings and identification of unknown offenders. We have worked with SentrySIS for the past 5 years and with their support, our partnership has gone from strength to strength.”
In South Yorkshire, retailers who are members of Doncaster’s Crime Partnership (C.A.S.E.D) have been using SentrySIS for the last 15 months and they too have seen the benefits of information sharing via their crime partnership.
David Chadwick from ‘Creating a Safer Environment in Doncaster’ commented and said, “We introduced the SentrySIS platform just over a year ago. During that time our members have had the benefit of up to date photos and local information which has helped to cut crime and disorder in Doncaster Town Centre. SentrySIS is a marvellous tool for the daytime and nighttime economy to keep ahead of the game thereby giving reassurance to both staff and customers.”
The additional benefit for retailers located across Yorkshire using SentrySIS is that they can share intelligence and crime information about travelling offenders over larger geographical areas.
Chris Nriapia from SentrySIS commented and said “We know that today’s crime travels over greater distances where historically shoplifters would have kept to their own local area to commit crime. By having towns and cities such as York, Leeds and Doncaster using one system allows their crime partnership management teams and neighbouring retailers to share information securely on travelling crime but also to share best practice with each other.”
