Working with businesses to stop crime

We are part of two schemes that help to decrease crime for businesses in the area.

HART – stopping retail theft

HART is a scheme for shops and businesses to stop retail theft – it has over 50 retail members.

It is a radio-linked scheme where members can warn other stores of potential or actual shoplifters in the area. The radio link acts as a deterrent to potential thieves as well as offering support and piece of mind to retailers.

The radio is also listened to by the:

  • HART co-ordinator
  • Police Community Support Officers on duty 
  • Duty Sergeant
  • CCTV control room

HART also operates an exclusion policy where a person who receives an exclusion notice is excluded from all members' premises. For this reason all members must display the HART members' sticker in a prominent position in the front window, which can be seen clearly from the outside of the premises.

The charge to join the HART scheme is £20 per month (via a standing order) or £240 per year.

For this membership fee you receive:

  • The hire of a Motorola GP320 (or equivalent ) two-way radio
  • Monthly intelligence meetings with the co-ordinator, the police, CCTV manager and other members
  • Information on excluded persons which includes photographs of the offenders
  • Door/window sticker informing customers that you are in the scheme
  • Advice on crime prevention
  • Training for you and all of your staff, no matter what the size of your company/business
  • A direct link via the radio to the co-ordinator, CCTV control room and the local policing unit
  • Posters and other crime reduction tools eg forged notes detector pens
  • Advice and information packs on subjects such as counterfeit currency, cloned credit cards etc

For more information or to apply to join HART email the Community Safety team.

Pub Watch – stopping anti-social behaviour

Pub Watch is a scheme designed to help stop anti-social behaviour in local pubs.

All members receive a two-way radio so they can report incidents or individuals by contacting:

  • Each other
  • Pub Watch co-ordinator
  • The police
  • The CCTV control room
  • The duty officer

Monthly meetings are held for all members where intelligence on local and regional offenders or trouble makers is discussed with the police and the co-ordinator. From these meetings exclusion orders are issued to offenders or known trouble makers banning them from all of the member’s premises for a set period. The majority of the exclusions are issued for violence or drug offences which attract a 12 month ban.

Individuals who receive an exclusion order have their photographs distributed to all members, the police and the CCTV control room.

Individuals will be given a copy of the exclusion order stating which establishments they are banned from. Individuals will then be asked to leave a member’s premises if they try to enter, and this is fed back to the co-ordinator and the police, where further action will be taken.

For more information or to apply to join Pub Watch email the Community Safety team.

Business Crime Prevention Advice

Download Leicestershire Police advice on improving security measures at your business (.docx file).

There is further crime prevention information available at www.leics.police.uk