Stirling’s business community has been using a crime-fighting tool to tackle antisocial behaviour together.
Business owners have joined forces by signing up to the Retailers Against Crime (RAC) SentrySIS platform which allows them to share real-time information and alerts about thefts and other crimes happening in the city.
The software system, which is provided free to members of Stirling’s Business Improvement District (BID), has been successful in tracking down the culprits of a number of offences.
And now, the Go Forth Stirling BID team are appealing to more retailers to get involved with the innovative scheme.
Project Director Danielle McRorie-Smith first implemented the initiative three years ago after receiving complaints from Stirling traders about antisocial behaviour in the city.
She said: “Since then the scheme has grown substantially as more business owners have signed up and it has become a key tool in identifying people involved in crime and allowing retailers to warn each other about real-time issues and offenders.
“The more traders who use the reporting system the more effective it will be and so we are keen to see more independent businesses come on board and join the programme.
“Subsidising the membership cost for RAC and giving retailers access to the SentrySIS system is an effective way for us to tackle antisocial behaviour in Stirling and contribute to the overall sense of safety and security in the city.”
The Thistles is a major user of SentrySIS and its security staff have, on several occasions, identified the culprits of assaults and thefts whose photos have been uploaded to the system by independent retailers across the city centre.
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Centre Director Gary Turnbull is keen to see more business owners join the scheme and work together proactively to fight crime in Stirling.
He said: “The more businesses that buy into the scheme, the better it will be – it’s a great resource which allows everyone to deal with antisocial behaviour together rather than trying to tackle it in isolation.
“A lot of city centre businesses are involved now and we had a recent situation where a shop owner uploaded CCTV footage of a person involved in an assault near their premises and our security staff were able to identify them and make that information available to the police and other users.
“This was a good example of businesses working together which is what the BID is trying to achieve by increasing the number of SentrySIS users.”
He added: “The police use the system as well so it provides useful information for them when investigating reports of a crime and I would like to see more businesses get involved and be part of the teamwork which helps us all tackle antisocial issues in the city centre.”
Lisa Davidson, who runs Tinkerbells Emporium in Friars Street, finds SentrySIS a useful tool for communication between business owners.
She said: “It’s great for helping businesses communicate with each other and share information about challenging customers so that we can be alert if we are warned there are people around who may be a nuisance, so I would certainly encourage more business owners to take part in the scheme.”
Go Forth subsidises the cost of RAC membership to all levy-paying and voluntary BID members giving them access to the SentrySIS (Secure Intelligence System) platform, to report crime, receive alerts about criminal activity in the area and create evidence logs to help police detect offences.
Retailers Against Crime is a national retail crime partnership, established in 1997, which aims to detect and prevent crime by sharing information on local and travelling offenders with members and partners throughout the UK.
Stephanie Karté, National Operations Manager at RAC, said: “Our partnership with Go Forth Stirling has been working well and the platform is proving a successful tool in allowing the city’s retailers to report persistent offenders.
“It also means incidents can be recorded and shared via the direct contact and relationships we have with Police Scotland.
“Being part of the system is all about teamwork and community spirit with business owners watching out for each other and through good intelligence sharing and everyone working together, we can all help make Stirling a safer place.”
Any business owners who want to find out more about the SentrySIS platform and become an RAC member should email [email protected]. More information can also be found at www.retailersagainstcrime.org and www.goforthstirling.co.uk.