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12.02.07 : Scheme calls time on anti-social behaviour

Shop managers and sales and security staff will soon have an extra hi-tech weapon in their fight to prevent theft and improve customer safety.

A new instant photo messaging service backed up by a powerful data base storing information on persistent offenders is being launched at next week’s annual Action Against Business Crime conference.

The City-watch/shops initiative is designed to link its members with photos and other information about incidents.

“Shop and security staff will be able to instantly share photos of people involved in theft or abusive behaviour with all the other members of a local shopwatch scheme,” explained Andy Parkes, strategic drector for the new scheme.

“These images help identify troublemakers and aid arrest, preventing problem behaviour from moving between shops.”

The City-watch/shops scheme will be launched at the Action Against Business Crime conference in Liverpool on Thursday February 22 with delegates being offered the chance to sign up for a free trial.
It requires no special equipment other than a mobile phone with photo-messaging capability and can cost members as little as £15 per month.

Staff simply send a photo of people involved in a incident by text message to the City-watch/shops distribution centre which then INSTANTLY passes it on to other scheme members.

All the information supplied is recorded on a database which can analyse incidents and provide details of the overall trends in behaviour, peak incident periods and statistics as well as track general behavioural patterns. Mapping technology also helps identify trouble hotspots.

This will enable members to pinpoint repeat troublemakers with persistent offenders finding that their behaviour at various establishments is recorded in one place.

“We can help link people involved in different incidents in different places on different days or weeks – providing a real picture of people involved in repeat incidents,” said Mr Parkes.

“Members will be able to develop a history of likely trouble spots, people and times and can easily share this with everyone involved over the internet.”

To ensure that none of the information is wasted, City-watch/shops also sends out a gallery of people involved in incidents to registered mobile phones every day.

The gallery can also be set up as a constant feed with new images added as they happen so photos can be continuously shown on a laptop in shop premises.