The North Warwickshire Community Safety Partnership, working with Atherstone Town Council, have just funded 26 retail radios for key businesses in the town centre.
Atherstone’s Town Watch Radio scheme contributes to crime prevention, detection, and diversion work in the town. It provides a crucial link between businesses and the Council’s CCTV control room, the local Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team, and the public.
By alerting and responding to venues about the arrival of offenders in the town, it provides a “short cut route” for preventing crime before it occurs and fast-tracking police responses when incidents are taking place.
PCSO Gavin Scott holds meetings between the stores and officers where further action may be taken, and it has already resulted in some fantastic results.
A special thanks goes to PCSO 6162 Scott and PCSO 8742 Rygielski, who have been behind the scheme and obtaining support from the local businesses to expand this work. Thanks also go to Atherstone Town Council for their joint funding, Warwickshire Retail Crime Scheme for coordinating activities, and the Safer Neighbourhoods Team for Policing this work.
This work has been funded by North Warwickshire Borough Council, supporting the work of the North Warwickshire Community Safety Partnership.
Ray Jarvis, Chair of the North Warwickshire Community Safety Partnership, said, ‘We believe that an even more extensive and well-supported town radio scheme will have a demonstrable impact on trends in shoplifting, personal theft, and antisocial or abusive behaviour, keeping Atherstone a safer place to live’.