The Brentwood Connected Business Improvement District (BID), Essex Police and the Shop Safe team have been visiting local branches of national stores to deliver TownLink radios to combat crime. Staff in Brentwood High Street shops including Boots, Cancer Research UK, Claire’s, Greggs, Holland & Barrett, Iceland, Marks & Spencer, Poundland, Robert Dyas, Sports Direct, Superdrug, Tesco and Waterstones have been equipped with radios, with plans to involve more businesses in the coming months and include Shenfield and Ingatestone.
The Shop Safe scheme works with Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), safety partnerships and local authorities across the country in the fight against town centre crime. The TownLink radios directly link to both Brentwood Borough Council’s CCTV control room and the Brentwood Connected Town Rangers, enabling businesses to share vital information and keep the area well managed and safe.
PC Alex Plakhtienko, of Essex Police’s specialist Business Crime Team accompanied Sarah Walmsley, Brentwood Connected’s Business Improvement District (BID) Manager, to deliver Shop Safe radios to businesses in Brentwood High Street and train staff on their use. He says, “We’re pleased to work with Brentwood Connected to help business owners and retailers keep themselves, their staff and their premises safe and secure. The TownLink radio scheme makes it easy for staff to communicate with other businesses in the area and to discuss issues of concern. We look forward to rolling them out to retailers in Ingatestone and Shenfield next.
“We encourage businesses to continue working together and, through our ‘Open For Business, Closed For Crime’ campaign, we encourage them to report criminal behaviour to us. This allows us to target our operational activity and also identify emerging crime trends, which means we can provide tailored crime prevention advice and work together with Brentwood Connected and individual businesses to make our high streets safe, friendly and welcoming places to live, shop and work.”
The Brentwood Connected Business Improvement District (BID) is the first in the UK to incorporate three high streets in one BID. Over 500 businesses across multiple sectors in Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone will benefit from events and initiatives that aim to increase footfall, dwell time and perception of the areas over the BID’s five-year term. In July, Brentwood Connected introduced a team of Town Rangers to the area who engage with local businesses, residents and visitors, as well as reporting anti-social behaviour, shoplifting and begging. Read more about the Brentwood Connected Town Rangers here.
Improving Places - to dress our streets and create an environment for people to stay longer;
Promoting Places - to attract new visitors and additional spend through marketing and events;
Welcoming Places - to ensure our locations are well-managed, safe and friendly;
Connecting Places - to create great places to live, work and invest.
For more information about Brentwood Connected, visit our About Us section. BID members can find details about Brentwood Connected here.