At present there is no shopwatch radio scheme in place in Thornaby Town Centre.
The vast majority of town centres run such a scheme and the benefits are numerous. Stores can communicate quickly with each other and the local police team if they identify a potential offender or group intent on causing anti-social behaviour.
Calls to the police control room can take several minutes to cascade down to local officers to act on and the offender may have already left the area by then.
Between 10 and 17 outlets within Thornaby Town Centre are interested in signing a contract with a provider for the rental of a radio and equipment over a prolonged length of time.
Funding has already been generated from Thornaby Town Council and ward councillors budgets totalling £1,105 and this application is to match fund this amount.
The total funding amount of £2,210 would enable all the shops/outlets to sign up to a contract free of charge for between 9 and 12 months. This will allow the scheme to become established and retailers to see the benefits of investing to sustain the scheme going forward.
Shoplifting is a volume crime area for Cleveland Police, and it is hoped that this initiative will reduce incidents and increase detection within Thornaby town centre.
Decision 34. Thornaby Town Centre Shop Watch Scheme funding (application, 29kB)